Amongst Untrodden Ways
by SecretEngima
Summary: She hadn't asked for this. Any of it. Being slashed through the throat, waking up in a world that shouldn't exist, being a sister to a fictional character, getting a wild family that steamrolled over things like reality, impossibility, and destiny via bullheadedness and faith in each other, or falling in love with a competitive idiot. She hadn't asked … but she loved them anyway.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Sometimes, it seemed as if she'd only been dreaming. Sometimes, when the shadows danced under summer leaves and the sun kissed her skin as she walked, it seemed as if the notions she had labeled as fact and the ones she had labeled as fiction were, in truth, reversed.

Sometimes, she looked back on her memories and was sharply reminded of the times a person dreamed of being awake. Of when the dream was just strong enough, just detailed enough, that when the dreamer actually awoke, they were left disorientated as to which was which.

Perhaps the many years she remembered before becoming Wren were all just the dark conjuring of a fragile mind and had never actually happened. Perhaps **this** existence; this world, this life, these people, had always been hers and she'd just never realized it.

But then Wren would reach up a hand and finger her scar, a permanent testimony of spilled blood, foolishness, the loss of **so much** , and the feeling that it had all been a dream would evaporate like drops of water on summer pavement.

No, those years had happened and that world had truly existed. Those people had truly lived, and those hopes and ambitions had really been hers.

And now they were gone forever.

It was at that point in her musings that she would turn away, force herself to stop thinking about the past and look instead to the present. She would run, or pick a fight, or do anything that made her blood sing and the present moment fill her until it had pushed out thoughts of her lost past and locked them carefully away in the most secret parts of her heart. Her past had existed, but it also could not be returned to or changed, so there was no point in dwelling on it.

Especially since if she dwelled on it long enough, that disorientated feeling, like that of a dreamer who could not remember which was reality and which was the dream, would inevitably creep up on her again and force her to wonder over and over one single thing.

If both worlds were real, yet wholly separate and convinced of the fictionality of the other, then which, exactly, was she?

* * *

 **So! Here's the start to my brand new story, Amongst Untrodden Ways! There is only one main OC character in this one, because as much as I love Starwish and Co. and Mira and Co., having an entire main cast of OCs can be a little overwhelming at times. Also, I know the Prologue is really, really short. But I didn't want to place it in the same chapter as Chapter One. Chapter One is longer, don't worry!**


	2. Chapter 1: Fractured Reality

**Author's Note: First actual chapter! Hopefully you all will like it. At the bottom of the chapter, I'm including, very rough, translations to the Japanese spoken in this chapter. Please note that I am not a native, or even vaguely fluent, Japanese speaker and all translations/word usages are based on internet research and the patterns I've noticed in anime. Thank you. Also, this story will probably not get updated as much as A Melody of Second Chances, but I'll try the best I can. This also does not mean I have abandoned either of my previous two stories, I've just added another one to the roster is all.**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot of this story.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Fractured Reality**

Bosco wasn't like its neighbors. Oh, from an outside perspective, it probably didn't look much different. Different buildings, different scenery and different quant town customs, but on the whole the same as everywhere else. But anyone on the inside, especially anyone on the bottom of Bosco's social ladder knew differently.

Bosco was a rat's nest disguised by pretty words, winding flowers, and thick woods. A place where children without parents or guardians became less than animals, a place where the unwary were dragged off to the underbelly Bosco would never admit to having.

A place where one wrong step meant being chained, degraded, and sold as a tool to the rich who were too lazy or incompetent to care for their own estates and health.

Then again, perhaps all countries were like that. It wasn't as if Bickslow had ever been to any of them to check. He hadn't even seen any part of Bosco that wasn't the city of Aternum or its near outskirts. The roads were the territory of bandits and slavers and Bickslow had no intention of leaving the safety of his alley network to become someone's glorified bag carrier or floor scrubber.

Bickslow danced along the rooftops, eyes sweeping the streets below idly as he made his way toward market street. This week was the Festival of Songs and that meant there were lots of foreign merchants who didn't have as much skill in spotting and driving off street orphans as the native shopkeepers. Of course, the Festival also meant there were many more people on the streets and thus, many more risks of accidentally drawing attention to himself.

Energy swirled in the streets and houses below him as he padded across hot clay tiles, eyes flickering from red to green subconsciously as he checked for the familiar oil-tainted signatures of slavers. There were always downsides to life, and the downside to more people and food merchants was that the crowds were perfect for slavers to slip in and out of, collecting a lost child or young adult before any of their potential family members realized they had been separated in the throng.

Green wove with blue and red with lavender as people bumped shoulders and their energies intermingled without their notice. Bickslow scowled and looked away, quickly ducking to the other side of the roof he was standing on and flattening himself to avoid the watchful glance of a black-encrusted slaver. _Darn it, there are more of them around than last year! It's going to be tricky avoiding them_ ** _and_** _getting something to eat. Especially considering…_ Bickslow idly raised a hand to trace the faintly raised lines of blue ink stretching down from his forehead and over the bridge of his nose.

He shook his head quickly and resumed his trek, taking a detour around the buildings of main street just in case someone else was smart enough to climb up on the rooftops to avoid the crowd. He stuck to the roofs of apartments, skirting along the tilted secret lanes that ringed either side of Aternum's side streets.

He was just about to jump over an alley gap when voices caught his attention and made him drop onto his stomach instead, "Ouch! Little brat-! grab her! Don't let her get away!" Peering over the side of the roof, Bickslow felt his stomach knot from something other than hunger. Three slavers scuffled about in the alley, hemming in the shaking form of a little girl. One of the men was cradling his bitten hand and snarling orders while the other two kept trying to snag the girl's arms.

Dirty blond curls bounced and flailed as their owner spun and twisted away from the hands time and again, running repeatedly for either the cover of the dumpsters or the alley exit only to be cut off and driven back by the much larger men surrounding her. Bickslow scowled and crawled backwards along the tiles, guilt gnawing at him even as survival instinct overrode his compassion. He had no intention of being captured by slavers and the only way he could feasibly overpower three full grown men was if he used the accursed power that throbbed behind his eyes.

 _I should stay out of it. It isn't my fault and I can't do anything about it without- and I can't do that so never mind. Besides, she's just a stranger, why should I risk my life for her?_ However, just as he was turning to run away, something surged and knocked him onto his stomach, freezing his lungs and making his eyes snap fully to glowing green defensively. Mist that hadn't existed seconds ago clouded the air, blocking normal sight and offering an eerie backdrop to the howling screams that rose from the alley he had just turned away from.

 _What was_ ** _that_** _?_ Bickslow twisted around, eyes widening even further as his power showed him a seething pulse of darkness in the alley, draining everything near it of heat and light for several terrifying seconds before it snapped shut. _That was-!_ Scrambling to his feet, Bickslow ran, but not away from the source of the cold as everyone else on the streets below were doing, but toward it. Skidding to a stop on the edge of the roof, he looked down sharply.

The small blond girl lay in the alleyway on her back, wide eyes staring blankly at the sky, chest visibly heaving as the mist started to fade. Around her, two of the slavers lay sprawled and groaning weakly, the third nowhere to be seen. Heart pounding in his ears, Bickslow scrambled down the nearest fire escape and dropped down onto the cobblestones. He hissed faintly at the unexpected sensation of freezing ice biting his bare feet, _ice in the middle of summer? This can't be natural._

He glanced hastily around the alley, searching for the third slaver to no avail before his still-glowing eyes landed on the little girl again. Red coated turquoise and flickered wildly in time with fearful green in a near dizzying display of different emotions. Yet despite the shifting colors, Bickslow could see a kernel of black, the same indescribably dark color as the cold-inducing pulse, resting behind terrified hazel eyes.

The girl was starting to sit up, limbs shaking as she looked around, spotted him, and froze, eyes communicating her confusion and terror even more clearly than words. For several seconds, the two stared at each other, the girl's colors dancing with more and more green and Bickslow's mind seething with just one thought, _she's like me, she's like me, she's like me!_

Footsteps and yelling voices rapidly approaching their location snapped him out of his daze and Bickslow held out a hand hurriedly, "We need to go!" The girl stared blankly at his hand, brow furrowing silently and making no move to take it. Huffing, Bickslow hastily reached out and grabbed her left wrist, pulling her toward the fire escape he had climbed down, "Run, stupid!"

* * *

Rihanna didn't know what was going on. Everything was happening too quickly, too loudly, it was too much all at once. The strange boy with blue hair and ratty clothes was dragging her on a wild run across the rooftops of what looked like a stereotypical old-fashioned italian/european town while people yelled and called in what to her battered, barely-comprehending ears sounded a lot like Japanese.

It was mid-afternoon and the heat beating down on her bare arms and legs could only come from the summer sun, which made no sense because last she'd checked it was late night in the middle of december. In Chicago.

Then again, her panic-hazed brain somehow managed to point out, last she'd checked she she'd also been over twenty years old, not toddling around as a child in an oversized shirt. Also, very importantly, she'd been a legal adult who'd lost consciousness after getting **slashed across the throat with a knife** , before waking up just outside a bustling countryside town she'd never seen before in her life. She'd wandered in, hoping to find some help, only to get lost, herded into an alley, and attacked by some very unsavory men.

 _Is this is how people experience their journey to the afterlife? If so, why Japanese speaking Italians? Why the running? Why the headache, pedophiles, and_ ** _freaking explosions_** _?_ The blue-haired boy who couldn't have been older than nine, which was disturbing because he was taller than she was, hissed something she barely caught as he tugged her into jumping over a gap between roofs, " _Koi_! _Hayaku_!"

 _Hayaku, faster/hurry up. Koi … come on?_ Rihanna tried to ask why, but nearly stumbled instead at the throbbing sensation blooming in her throat when she tried to make a sound, _what-?_ Her free hand pressed against her throat, another jolt of adrenaline spiking through her as she realized that there was a definite, diagonal line of raised flesh stretching across her neck. _The knife! It must be from the knife! But why would I have a scar if I'm dead? But if I'm not dead, how am I still alive if it…?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when the blue-haired boy clutching her wrist abruptly dragged her toward another fire escape, " _Ike_! _Ike_!" _Ike, that means go. Go? Why? Where are we going? What's going on?_ The thoughts blurred in her mind as she was urged down the fire escape by the boy, her body automatically following his instructions while her brain tried to comprehend what was happening and failed miserably.

As soon as their feet hit the cobbled pavement they were off again. Running around garbage bins, scrambling over discarded boxes, and winding a twisting path through the unfamiliar location so quickly that Rihanna was soon even more lost than before. When they finally stopped running, Rihanna dropped to the ground, temporarily ignoring her new surroundings as she tried with marginal success to coax her burning lungs into providing oxygen.

She leaned back, only dimly aware of rough brick rubbing her back through the material of her favorite shirt, now so oversized it served as a short dress, and nicking faintly at her scalp. Her feet throbbed from running bare over uneven surfaces for who knew how long, sweat sticking her normally curly golden hair to her forehead. Her heart was pounding so loudly it was sending painful pulses through her skull, _guess I can't be dead then,_ a part of her pointed out with a hysterical giggle, _everyone knows dead people don't have heartbeats…_

Motion in front and slightly to her left side heralded a grubby hand shaking her shoulder lightly and a worried voice over her head, "Oi, _daijō ka_?" Slowly, Rihanna opened her eyes, staring blankly at the boy who she should have towered over yet was now smaller than, brain struggling and failing to provide a solution to the conundrum of his appearance.

Now that she wasn't being dragged who-knew-where, she was able to study him and let the full magnitude of his appearance set in. _How does a clearly homeless child get blue hair?_ The answer that popped up in her head was just as ridiculous as the question, _the same way he gets ruby red eyes and a giant stick figure tattoo stretching from his forehead down the bridge of his nose. Wait, why does that look familiar?_

The boy was scowling at her now, but the look in his eyes was more frightened than angry and Rihanna realized that she had yet to answer his question. She opened her mouth, the part of her that had had Moriko's language lessons thoroughly pounded into her brain ready to reply in, heavily accented, Japanese. However, as soon as she attempted to push sound out of her mouth, something twinged sharply in her throat and she doubled over coughing instead.

The twinge settled and Rihanna sat up again, hands flying to her throat to feel the raised line of rough skin again, _oh no. No, no, no, no!_ Desperately, she tried to speak again, in either English or Japanese, she didn't care. The throbbing, tingling sensation rushed back and she pushed down a coughing fit to try a simple wordless scream instead. Nothing, no sound emerged from her mouth no matter how hard she tried, not even a whimper. The twinge in her throat finally overpowered her and she devolved into a coughing fit that sounded far too quiet for its intensity.

The boy was lightly patting her shoulder, as if he wanted to shake her but was afraid to, "Oi. Oi! _Shikaishiro_!"

Rihanna could barely hear him, let alone cobble together the meaning of his words in English. She was unable to process much beyond the overwhelming thought pounding through her skull like a rockslide, _I'm mute. I'm mute. I'm_ ** _mute_** _!_ She pushed air into her throat to whimper and only felt her stress increase when her act was met with resounding silence. Her coughing fit had receded and she curled up tightly, hands still clutching her throat in terror as she tried to process everything and failed.

On one hand, she was in an unfamiliar location filled with people who spoke a language she only moderately understood, and now couldn't communicate with them even slightly because she was mute. On the other, a much darker part of her pointed out that the reason behind her muteness was that a knife blade had passed through her throat and by all rights she should be dead, not strangely de-aged and panicking. The strain of it all became too much and before she even had time to realize that her vision was going dark, her body shut down in an attempt to preserve her sanity.

~~~~~~~~ A Short Time Later~~~~~~~~~

Rihanna wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious, only that when she awoke, it was to surroundings completely unlike her college dorm room. Sitting up in a blind panic, she looked wildly around at the musty stone walls all around and wooden rafters stretching above her head for several seconds before her memories flooded back to her.

One of her hands whipped up to touch her throat again even as she forced herself to take deep breaths and calm down. Panicking and fainting again would do her no good. She had to, somehow, find sense in the madness that had suddenly become her life and figure out what to do from there. _First step. Where am I now?_ Rihanna looked around again, starting a bit when she looked straight up and saw huge bell hanging over her like a gaping maw.

A tiny puff of air that should have been a squeak escaped her and she scooted backward a few inches before a stone wall prevented her from moving further. Her movement caused something to shift on her legs, dragging her attention reluctantly away from the gigantic bell and to the floor instead. Half tangled around her legs was a coat. An old overcoat with only one sleeve left and several patches of incorrect color decorating its back.

She blinked once, then twice, studying the placement of the overcoat and realizing that it must have been draped over her in lieu of a blanket. _Who could have…? Was it that boy?_ Tearing her gaze away from the coat-blanket, she looked around again, spotted a small, circular window and carefully stood up to go look. She moved carefully, trying to step lightly and not slide her feet as she walked. She had no desire to get splinters in her feet on top of everything else happening to her.

Successfully crossing the floor without injury, Rihanna clambered up onto the thick circular sill of the grimy window, her unnaturally small frame able to balance comfortably on it as she looked out at the world below and beyond. It was utterly foreign. Carefully, Rihanna took slow, measured breaths as she looked out at a sprawling city that never rose more than three or four stories and whose limits were defined by the stone walls rising in the far distance. It looked nothing like what she was used to, nothing like the towering complexes and apartment buildings with stories in the double-digits and glistening surfaces of steel, concrete, and glass.

Below her was a world of clay and tiles and earthy colors mixed in with the splotches of moving color that were people. Below was a city from a storybook, or a foreign countryside, or a **fairy tale** and beyond it was rolling hills of green forests that only added to the sense of displacement. It was beautiful, no doubts of that. But it was so, utterly unfamiliar that Rihanna could only look at it in horror.

Pattering footsteps and the creak of a small door opening had her turning away from the window sharply to look. The blue-haired boy stepped inside, hands clutching a small loaf of bread, using one foot to push the creaky door shut. She watched as his eyes flickered to where the coat lay crumpled and empty, do a double take, and then promptly start panicking. She blinked at him in confusion at the wild, near-frenzied air he immediately exuded, running over to the coat and lifting it as if expecting to find her hiding underneath it somehow.

When he didn't, he started running to the far corners, peaking behind boxes and occasionally looking **in** the boxes, presumably for any sign of her. Rihanna tried to cough politely, make a noise that would attract his attention, only to be sharply reminded that her voice no longer worked. Swallowing the unpleasant reminder as best she could, she resorted to the first alternative that came to mind.

He whirled around immediately at her short shrill whistle, startling her with the glow of green eyes before he blinked and they were red once more. _Did I just imagine that?_ Hurrying over to her, he babbled a long stream of breathless words too fast for her to fully understand. Managing to pick out the concerned tone and what sounded like the word "food" and the question "are you alright?", she nodded slowly before raising her hands and patting the air placatingly.

He slowed to stop and took a deep breath before studying her intently for a minute. Rihanna struggled not to squirm under his gaze. She was older than him in mind if not, somehow, in body and had come from a rough neighborhood so by all rights she shouldn't have felt intimidated. She did though, especially when his eyes dropped down to focus on the, most likely ugly and noticeable, scar running diagonally from the left side of her jaw down to her right collarbone.

His jaw clenched for a moment and she thought she saw anger flicker through his gaze before it vanished and he diverted his attention from her to the loaf of bread in his hand. Ripping it roughly in half, he held part of it out to her, " _Onaka suita_?"

Rihanna rolled that over several times in her head before tentatively concluding via context and vague familiarity with the phrase that he was asking if she was hungry. Her stomach, ignoring the emotional crisis of her mind and fractured reality outside, chose that cliché moment to growl and she accepted the offered bread with a blush and a mouthed thanks.

She tried her hardest not to wolf down the piece of bread, or think of how such an obviously homeless boy acquired it, but only partially succeeded. The bread piece was soon nothing more than a memory and crumbs she carefully licked off of her, unfortunately grubby, fingers. _I guess I'm more hungry than I thought I was after being attacked by those men and all the rooftop running we did. I guess that's another point in favor of me being alive somehow … the dead can't get hungry._

Looking up, she started out of her thoughts when she saw that the boy had already devoured his portion of bread and was watching her intently, an unreadable gleam in his eyes. Rihanna shifted uncomfortably, trying to figure out why he was staring at her. _He's way too young to be thinking anything dirty. He doesn't look more than nine. So what is he thinking? For that matter, why did he help me? Not that I don't appreciate it, but he doesn't even know my name._ She blinked silently as the last thought stood out, _Come to think of it, I don't even know_ ** _his_** _name._

Hoping to rectify the situation, Rihanna looked up and opened her mouth to ask. She then snapped it shut again when she remembered that she couldn't. _I appreciate being alive and all, even if I'm comatose or crazy right now, but being mute is such a pain!_ Sighing heavily, Rihanna tried to think of another way to ask the boy's name. Glancing at the grubby window, she snapped her fingers as an idea struck her, _I'll just write the words on the window! The grime should make the words visible and-_ She promptly deflated when she realized a large obstacle in her way, _and I have absolutely no idea how to write in Japanese. There's no reason that these people would have a spoken language completely different from their written one and I'm fairly certain I saw signs in kanji before getting herded into that alley._

With the boy watching on curiously, she struggled to come up with another option, _Can't speak, can't write … charades then? Guess I have no choice._ Looking back up at the boy, Rihanna carefully placed a hand against her chest and mouthed her name before pointing at the boy. It took three more times of slowly repeating the motions before the non-comprehending look faded from his red eyes and he pointed at himself, " _Namae ka_?" Rihanna nodded, hoping that she was correct in thinking that "namae" meant the same thing as "onamae" and that he was asking if she wanted to know his name.

The boy scratched the back of his neck and smiled hesitantly at her, apparently sheepish, "Ah, _sumimasen_ , _wasureteta_!" Moving his hand away from his neck, the boy pointed a thumb at his chest, " _Watashi wa_ , Bickslow _desu_!"

Rihanna felt her thought processes, which had been trying to remember what "wasureteta" meant, screech to a stop. _Wait … did he just say his name was_ ** _Bickslow_** _?_ Her eyes widened and she hastily scanned his appearance again. _Dark blue hair and red eyes, both of which aren't natural outside of anime and cartoons? Check. Speaks Japanese despite the fact we're in a surprisingly european-looking town? Check._ Her eyes trailed up to his forehead and lingered a moment before she cradled her head in her hands pathetically, _dark blue stick figure tattoo thing in the whopping middle of his face? Check._ She pushed air through her throat, trying to groan, but was only rewarded with a strong tingling feeling and silence. Lifting her head from her hands briefly, she double-checked his appearance, also noting his suddenly nervous countenance as she did so.

She settled for a heavy sigh, _I've just met kid Bickslow of Fairy Tail … if this is my version of coma dreams or hallucinations, my head is even more messed up than I thought. I don't even know Bickslow's real backstory, he doesn't deserve me thinking up a horrible childhood for him._

" _Ano_ …" the hesitant word brought her out of her surprisingly calm musings over what was going on and whether she was not panicking about it yet because she was in shock. Bringing her attention back to Bickslow, she noted the way his shoulders were hunched and his body leaning away from her, as if expecting a violent outburst. A pang of pain went through her at the sight. She was smaller than he was, there was no reason to look at her like she was about to bite his head off. Swallowing faintly, she smiled at him and held out a hand, hoping to convey a nonverbal "nice to meet you" since her vocal cords didn't work anymore.

Bickslow stared first at her hand, then at her face, then back to her hand before his posture slowly relaxed and he smiled in return. Clasping her hand, he shook it up and down twice before releasing, " _Yoroshiku_ … _eh_ , _onamae wa_?"

Rihanna shrugged helplessly and rubbed her throat, there was no way to convey her name to the fictional child Bickslow. _If this is a dream, shouldn't he already know? Then again, if this is a dream, my dream, then shouldn't I be able to speak? Plus, this all feels so real…_ She temporarily pushed away that disturbing line of thought. She could figure out her circumstances later, for now, she needed to focus on her present company who was currently babbling something too fast for her to comprehend.

Before she could finish piecing together his statement, Bickslow turned away from her and began looking around intently, muttering random words under his breath as he searched among the sparse items in the belfry. After cycling through the Japanese words for "box", "window", "rock", "bell", and possibly "dust bunny", a fluttering sound caught their attention and they both looked up. A small bird had somehow found a way in and was fluttering about in the rafters with a twig in its beak, probably seeking for a place to build its nest. It chirped and bounced authoritatively from rafter to rafter, looking at nooks and crannies in the woodwork high above their heads.

It was abruptly startled into retreating when Bickslow shouted, " _Wakatta_!" Whirling on the startled Rihanna, he flashed his infamous tongue grin before shouting in a tone of pure triumph, " _Onamae wa_ Wren _desu_!" He flashed his tongue grin again, seemingly waiting for a similar reaction of joy.

It took Rihanna a full five seconds to figure out the full implications of what he'd just said. When it hit her, she sat up sharply, mouth flopping open in disbelief, _Did he just name me? Like a pet? After some_ ** _random bird_** _that happened to fly into the belfry?_ When Bickslow gave no sign that he was joking, just smiling a tongue-wagging smile throughout twelve seconds of incredulous staring on Rihanna's part, she gave into the urge to face palm.

 _Of course he did. Just … of course he did. At least he didn't name me Box…_

* * *

 **Translations: 1. "Come on! Faster!"**

 **2\. "Oi, you okay?"**

 **3\. "Oi. Oi! Pull yourself together!"**

 **4\. "You hungry?"**

 **5\. "My name?"**

 **6\. "Ah, pardon me, I forgot! My name is Bickslow!"**

 **7\. "Um..."**

 **8\. "Nice to meet you ... eh, what's your name?"**

 **9\. "I got it!"**

 **10\. "Your name is Wren!"**

 **Second Author's Note: In case anyone is curious, Bickslow is nine-years-old in this chapter while Rihanna is physically three and mentally an adult. See you next time!**


	3. Chapter 2: Nine Months Later

**Here I am with chapter two! Feel free to let me know what you think of it so far!**

 **Review Response: Dear pucksabrinadaphne, hi! Glad you think so!**

 **Author's Note: Hmm, not much to tell except I'll be using less and less Japanese as time goes on. Mostly because I'm terrible at Japanese grammar, but also because as Rihanna (Wren) understands the language better, her mental translations from Japanese to English will get faster. I'll still be using some Japanese, stuff like "-san", "-kun", and "-chan" but fewer and fewer complete words. Unless it's a special circumstance. Either way, see the bottom for translations if you don't know some of the Japanese words used in this chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Nine Months Later**

"Oi! Get back here with that, _Onigaki_!" Bickslow took off down the street, the angry shopkeeper hot on his heels to retrieve the poorly stolen apple. All nearby eyes in the marketplace automatically swung to watch the chase, never noticing the much smaller figure that flitted out of the shadows behind their backs. Rushing up to the apple stand, Rihanna hastily reached up and started grabbing fruit, hurriedly stuffing as many as she could into the makeshift bag she held clutched in one hand before running back to the shadowed alley with the stolen items in tow.

Winding her way rapidly through the narrow paths between buildings with a familiarity of one who had inhabited them for far too long, Rihanna kept a keen eye out for any signs of slavers or other thieves. Food was a precious thing and Bickslow's baiting trick only worked once or twice a week at most. She couldn't afford to lose the bag clutched in her hands.

Nine months. It had been roughly nine months since she had woken up in a country she'd never heard of, which existed in a fictional world she'd never believed was real. Nine months of running, stealing, learning the language fast for fear of dying otherwise, and getting the notion that it was all a hallucination beaten out of her.

Even the most realistic of dreams had glitches. Little bits and pieces that didn't fit, sensations that were lacking or sequences that repeated themselves without reason. What she'd been living had been nothing like that. The pain was real, the hunger was excruciating, and the world around too detailed every second of the day to be fake.

She'd had panic attacks about it for the first month or two, moments of curling up in the nearest corner and sobbing silently while Bickslow frantically tried to figure out what was wrong with her. But after those times, Rihanna had forced herself to get over it, to push forward because if she stopped she would very likely end up dead or caught by the unscrupulous robbers and human traffickers that prowled the back alleys.

Thankfully, throughout all the time she had been there, trapped in the body of a mute three-year-old, torn from everything she'd known and understood, she had had one constant.

Bickslow.

She still wasn't sure why the boy had rescued her that day, or why he continued to teach and care for her as best he was able, but she was eternally grateful to him for it. Bickslow, with his irritatingly endearing tongue-wagging smile and rapid chatter kept her relatively sane through it all. The part of her that was small, scared, and lonely clung to his warmth and vitality while the part of her that was a fully grown woman felt maternally protective of the precocious nine to ten-year-old who was her only companion.

Rihanna broke out of her thoughts and hastily stuffed herself in the shadows of a dumpster, breathing lightly as another figure flitted past, dark clothing and tattered cloak marking him as one of the thieves of the city. Apparently, instead of having a magic guild, this city had a troublesome and ninja-like thieves' guild that stole from the richest and picked up promising street children to instruct in their ways.

Well, all promising street children except Bickslow and, by extension, herself. For some reason, the people of the city seemed particularly hostile to Bickslow, fearful even. They consistently called him " _Onigaki_ " which Rihanna roughly translated as "demon brat" or something similar. Though they chased him, they only ever did it when they didn't know who he was and when he was running away. The few times she'd seen him turn to face whoever was chasing him, the person would take one look at his face, pale drastically, call him that name, and flee.

It confused her, but she had yet to figure out how to ask Bickslow about it via their complicated communication system of charades, whistles, and hand signs. She suspected it had something to do with the way his eyes glowed green at random times, presumably from the eye magic he used in the anime. She didn't know why he would have something that strange and potentially devastating at such a young age, but again, she had no way to get confirmation.

Carefully detaching from her hiding spot, Rihanna resumed running for the old, dilapidated cathedral that served as their home. It was an old Zentopia church if she read the markings right, but it had been abandoned for many years and its left belfry had served as her home for the nine months she'd been in that world. It soon came into sight, the shortcuts she had memorized between it and the Market District serving her well yet again as she made for one of its walls.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she carefully crawled into the building through a small hole in the wall just big enough for a child to crawl through. Emerging inside the church between two rotting pews, she clambered to her feet and pattered through the dusty isles to the stairs leading up to the belfry. Mindful of the various creaky steps that served as their own early warning system, Rihanna was soon in the belfry in which she had first awoken after fainting nine months earlier. Only once she was inside and curled up on the windowsill, the bag of apples clutched firmly to her chest, did she relax. _Another heist successful. Hopefully it went just as well for Bickslow as it did for me._

Reaching inside the bag, Rihanna pulled out one of the apples and began munching on it slowly, taking care not to eat too fast for fear of upsetting her food deprived stomach. Her stomach did not appreciate her logic and gurgled hungrily at the small, slow bites to which she was restricting herself. As she ate, Rihanna kept an idle eye on the town below through the grimy window she had claimed as her own. People moved back and forth, their shapes reduced to ridiculously small sizes and simplistic shapes because of how high above them she was.

 _From up here, they all look like little moving M &Ms with arms,_ a part of her mused humorously. _Not that they look any more normal from up close._ Her face screwed up into a thoughtful frown at that thought. It was yet another difference between this world and her old one. The people there looked to be the perfect blend between anime and real life. Their features were too real, their skin too warm to be fake, yet their eyes were just a touch too big and expressive and their hair colors were just a tad too varied to register as normal in her mind.

She had pondered it off and on a lot over the past several months, but the closest thing she had ever managed to compare it to was the Final Fantasy VII movie "Advent Children", with its motion capture and animation so realistic that she had at first mistaken Cloud in his opening scene to be an actual actor. But even then, the movie didn't quite get the blend between reality and anime as balanced as Earthland seemed to.

She carefully nibbled around the apple stem, making sure to eat as much of the top and bottom as possible before moving on to munch on the core. Food was hard to come by as a three-year-old street brat and her nine-year-old mentor and it was best to conserve whatever prizes they'd stolen for as long as possible. The apples were fresh, if kept hidden in the dark of the box in the far corner of the belfry they would keep for at least a week, maybe two. By then, they would have been able to steal more to add to their stores … hopefully.

The stairs leading up to the belfry creaked and Rihanna tensed, grip shifting on the apple core to make it more easily thrown while her feet slid underneath her, ready to spring from the window at a moment's notice. A minute or two after the first squeak, two more squeaks sounded and Bickslow came into view. Rihanna dropped her apple core with a silent gasp, setting down the apple bag and running over to steady him as he wobbled in the doorway.

She hissed between her teeth, wordlessly demanding to know what had happened even as he waved her away and went to sit down on their shared coat blanket, " _Daijōbu desu_ , Wren. Just a few bruises." Rihanna ran her eyes critically over his frame, spotting the bruises on his arm that looked suspiciously like fingers and the way he favored his right ribs. Several curses flickered darkly through her mind, all of them directed at the heartless adults of the city, and she clenched her fists briefly before running to the windowsill and retrieving an apple for Bickslow.

When she returned with the apple, Bickslow shot her a tired smile as he accepted it, " _Arigatō_ , Wren, _yoku yattane._ " Rihanna gave him a tightlipped smile at his words, unable to feel pleased about his praise when he was injured in any way. Sighing to herself, she briefly moved away from him to put the apples in their designated hiding place for food. Best to remove the temptation from sight to avoid taking another one.

Moving back to Bickslow, she sat cross-legged in front of him, a frown pulling at her lips. Bickslow paused in his enthusiastic devouring of the apple, a noise of inquiry emerging from his throat as he cocked his head to one side. Rihanna pursed her lips, trying to figure out how to finally express the question that had been bothering her so much. The sight of Bickslow's injuries had brought her curiosity over the city's hate and fear of him to the foreground.

After all, if the hand imprint on his arm was any indication, the shopkeeper had caught him, yet aside from clearly sore ribs, Bickslow had no other injuries and most importantly, was still running free. She had no doubts that his comparatively few injuries and current freedom were because of how civilians ran away from him whenever they got a good look at his face.

Seeing that she had accidentally garnered Bickslow's full attention, she hesitantly reached out and touched first his bruises, then his face, head cocking in question. Bickslow frowned non-comprehendingly, "What's the matter, Wren? I already said I'm fine."

Rihanna shook her head, frustration starting to bloom. Reaching out, she pointed at Bickslow, then at his bruises, then mimed someone running away and cocked her head again. Bickslow blinked at her once, then scowled, "Are you calling me slow?" Rihanna shook her head vehemently, _I'm asking a question, idiot!_ Finally, she resorted to mimicking the hand motion some of the shopkeepers performed when they realized who they were chasing. With clumsy fingers, she drew a circle over her chest where her heart should be before before pressing her index finger under her left eye and then pointing at Bickslow with a questioning look.

Bickslow went very, very still and for a moment Rihanna was terrified that she had cursed him or insulted him or somehow made him actually angry at her. His head tilted down so that his scruffy blue hair hung over his eyes, shielding them from sight while his fingers clutched the remains of his apple tightly. After several seconds of tense silence, Bickslow asked softly, "You … you want to know why people do that when they see me? Why they ward me off like I'm a demon?"

 _Is that what that means?_ Hesitantly, Rihanna nodded, hoping that he could still see the motion from under his hair. Whether he saw her nod or not, he continued to speak, "I … the people hate me 'cause they think I'm cursed. I … my eyes see stuff that they shouldn't see. I can see what makes people, people. The things they feel, the way they think, if they've killed before or are slavers in disguise…" He slowly raised his head again and Rihanna gaped slightly when she saw that his eyes were a vibrantly glowing green.

She had seen them flicker to green briefly before over the course of the months, but she'd never had them directed straight at her as far as she could remember. They were eerie somehow, making her feel naked and exposed and vulnerable even though she knew Bickslow would never hurt her. Bickslow's mouth twisted downward and she wondered briefly if he could see her fear. His eye magic had never been really explained in the anime in her opinion, mostly because she didn't fully believe his ranting about seeing souls.

Then again, if coupled with his current explanation, maybe souls were the closest thing he could get to describing what he saw when he used his eyes. Bickslow, unaware of her inner thoughts, continued speaking, his fingers idly tracing the tattoo on his face, "My parents threw me out when I first started doing it, even though I never meant to! They … the people here don't think they can kill me, they think I have to die of natural causes or else I'll take the soul of whoever killed me and use it to terrorize the city for eternity … or something. So instead of trying to kill me, they … they did this. Branded me so that everyone can know who I am, why I'm on the streets, why they should run away."

Rihanna felt first shock, then raw hatred for the people of the city. How could they throw out a child just because he could do things they didn't understand? How could they **brand** a little boy just because he could see things they couldn't? Do things they couldn't? How could they? How **dare** they?

"That's … that's why I helped you out that first day, I didn't want you to get branded too. I mean, it isn't your fault anymore than it is mine and … and I liked the thought of not being alone anymore. Not being the only one." _Wait, what?_ Rihanna gaped at Bickslow for an entirely different reason, trying to understand what he meant by that. _Not the only one? Not the only what? Cursed child? Bickslow isn't cursed, he just has some kind of eye magic!_ Rihanna's eyes widened as suspicion dawned and she pointed at herself inquiringly, _he think's I have eye magic? I don't have any kind of magic! I'm from an entirely other world that doesn't have magic of any kind!_

Now it was Bickslow's turn to cock his head, "Don't you remember? When those three slavers had you cornered, you … did some kind of icy, dark explosion. I heard that two of them had really bad cases of frostbite all over their bodies afterward and no one ever found the third guy."

Rihanna felt like her world had just been ripped out from under her again. _I did that? I did that explosion thing on that first day? What-? Just …_ ** _what_** _?_ Rihanna pointed at herself again disbelievingly and Bickslow rolled his now red eyes, his tone lightening now that they were talking about her and not his own predicament, " _Hai_ , Wren, I mean you." Rihanna shook her head in denial and Bickslow scowled at her, "I'm not lying!" Rihanna shook her head again, even more stubbornly, for once not in the mood to soothe the younger boy's mood swings.

His eyes flashed green again and he lashed out, "I can see it! It's right there!" His right index finger firmly poked her between the eyes and the instant it made contact, her world imploded on itself. White noise filled her ears as she suddenly wasn't looking at the world around her, but at a strange, unknown place that stretched for undeterminable miles.

Towering on either side and behind her were the silhouettes of expansive shelves, monstrous things that were at least several stories high. She couldn't tell if there was anything on the shadowed shelves, mostly because her attention was focused on something else entirely. Namely, her attention was focused solely on the looming double doors that stretched high about her head. There were no walls connected to the door, yet she knew without moving that there was nothing to see if she walked to the door's other side. Not that she was in any state to move, really, she was too caught up gawking at the door.

It was both like, yet unlike any door she'd ever seen. With a rounded top at least two stories above her head, it seemed to be made out of some kind of glossy dark stone. Carved in its surface were intricate engravings of … something, she couldn't place them at the moment but they looked familiar.

The engravings, whatever they were meant to represent, were a dizzying myriad of interconnected swirls, ovals, and star-like shapes that had all been pulled and stretched by some unseen force to be made up of rounded curves and not straight lines. Inside the swirls and shapes were raised lumps in the stone, all clustered in random groups throughout the larger carvings. Reaching a hand out hesitantly to feel the bumps, Rihanna recoiled in surprise at the icy temperature of the stone.

It wasn't a painful cold, but it was still clearly freezing, making her reluctant to touch it again. She started to do so anyway, curiosity overriding her caution, when there was a flash of something other, a ripple of light and noise and suddenly she was in the belfry again, sprawled gracelessly on her butt panting while Bickslow recoiled from her, a look of terror on his face.

The white noise slowly left her ears, giving way to a sobbing adolescent voice, " _Gomenasai, gomenasai, gomenasai_! Wren, _daijōbu desu ka_? Are you alright? Wren?" Rihanna blinked away the last of her situational confusion and moved toward Bickslow, brow furrowing when he flinched away from her, eyes squeezed shut and still stammering apologies, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean-! Whatever I did, I didn't mean it! I didn't want to hurt you, I just wanted to-! I'm so sorry!"

Taking advantage of his closed eyes, Rihanna lunged forward and caught Bickslow in a hug, making shushing noises through her teeth as she clung to his shaking form. Slowly, Bickslow's arms came up and he embraced her, his voice small and scared, " _Daijōbu ka_?" Rihanna nodded against his shoulder, trying to soothe him as best she could without her lost voice.

Even as she calmed Bickslow down and managed to assure him that she was fine and wasn't about to run away from him like he was a demon, her thoughts were spinning in other directions, _what was that? Was that…? Was that in my mind? What was that icy door? Could that be … could that be what Bickslow saw?_

Turning her focus briefly inward, Rihanna started at the sudden sensation behind her eyes. It was like an ice cube, or a locked door, or the pressure of a headache without any of the pain, or all of those things at once yet not. It was something she had never consciously felt before, yet now that she was aware of it, she realized that she'd been feeling it ever since waking up in Earthland.

Slowly, shakily, she pulled her focus back out to the external world and blinked several times as a realization settled over her, _Holy Pantherlilies … I have magic. I have_ ** _eye_** _magic._ Her inner Naruto fan suddenly jumped up and down screeching hysterically and Rihanna carefully raised a hand to her temple, pressing her fingers there as if she'd be able to feel the source of the faint sensation behind her eyes, _I have a bloody dōjutsu!_

Her hand migrated from her temple to her face as she temporarily ignored Bickslow and reintroduced her forehead to her palm, _I have a dōjutsu. And I have no idea what it does, other than apparently be wildly cold and destructive, and I have no idea how to consciously control it._

 _Perfect. Just … just perfect._

* * *

 **Japanese Translations: 1. "Onigaki" = Demon Child**

 **2\. "I'm alright."**

 **3\. "Thank's, Wren, good work."**

 **4\. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Wren, are you alright?"**

 **5\. "You're alright?"**


	4. Chapter 3: Three Years Later

**Author's Note: Hello to everyone reading this! At least, I'm going to assume people are reading this because I received notice for a few new story alerts ... anyway! A little bit of a warning and a little bit of explaining! First off, in this chapter, Wren is now physically six, Bickslow is twelve, and the newest canon character who is going to show up is fourteen or so. Also, on the subject of the new canon character who appears in this chapter, spoiler alert if you haven't read/watched beyond the ... Grand Magic Games I think. You should definitely be in the clear if you've read the start of the Alvarez Empire arc, but since I myself have only watched the anime, I can't say for certain when this character gets fully revealed/explained. That's just a warning for people who hate any kind of spoiler whatsoever. If you don't mind, or have already read the released Alvarez Empire arc chapters, then just ignore the above spoiler warning because I'm not going to start jumping up and down shouting plot twist secrets. On another note, since Bickslow is something of a major character in my story, I would like to have it be noted that I've changed how his magic works a bit. Namely, he does not steal souls and put them in tiki dolls. That's a bad guy thing, not something Fairy Tail members would do in my opinion. So, in this story, Bickslow can animate his tiki dolls by essentially imbuing them with a fragment of his own raw magical energy or, in a sense, bits of his own personality. It doesn't detract from how he himself acts, it just lets his tiki dolls display some of his own different traits. Kinda like having imaginary friends that aren't imaginary ... and can shoot lasers on command. With all that out of the way, on to the story!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Three Years Later**

Things had changed after the revelation that she had a "dōjutsu" as she'd privately named it. For one, she'd set out to learn exactly what it was and what it did, managing to enlist Bickslow's help in finding abandoned areas to practice in. It had taken about fifty-five tries before she managed to open the imaginary door behind her eyes. It took thirty more tries and a lot of mysterious frozen craters in the ground, buildings, and trees before she managed to come up with a solid theory about what it was that she could do.

Roughly speaking, she opened a portal into space. Not hammerspace like Erza did or anything like that, but the actual, freezing cold, deep space that existed between planets and solar systems and galaxies. That was why things seemed to explode, or more specifically **implode** and freeze at the same time in the general direction of wherever she was looking. A sliver of space, no bigger than a dinner plate really, would open near or in the area she was focusing on, creating an instantaneous vacuum that would suck in matter, air molecules, and heat within a certain radius of itself before the strain would become too much for her and the door in her mind would slam shut again.

Needless to say, she'd become much more cautious about testing her abilities after figuring that out. But despite figuring out that she could do something as dangerous as rip a hole in space/time, she didn't stop practicing in between helping Bickslow steal food and other essentials to survive. It wasn't that she didn't understand the magnitude of what she could potentially do, it was that she knew she'd need to have full control over it if she was going to survive to see her twentieth birthday again.

For all that it was one of the less bloodthirsty and callous action anime/manga, especially compared to say, "Naruto", "Bleach", or "Jormungand", it was still a very dangerous world. The first fifty episodes alone had featured a living flute that could kill anyone who heard it and knock down mountains at will when in its monster form, a giant robot fortress with a cannon bigger than some buildings, a spell ominously called Abyss Break that could destroy an entire city, and the super-weapon Etherion under the control of egomaniac old fogies that could blow up an entire **country**.

And all that wasn't counting the people who had featured in those episodes. Natsu alone could destroy a town without meaning to, while bad guys like a mind-controlled Jellal or the insane Master Hades could intentionally do worse with simple command and not bat an eyelash.

If she wanted to stand a chance at surviving the plot-line, she needed whatever training and powers she could get. Especially since Bickslow, a crucial if minor Fairy Tail character, had taken to calling her " _imōto_ " two years ago, pretty much ensuring that she had no chance of simply keeping her head down and avoiding the plot-line altogether even if she'd wanted to.

Thankfully for her conscience, her ultra-destructive and lethal dōjutsu was not the only magic at her disposal thanks to some slavers, a dark storage shed, and a crazy idea. As she slipped hurriedly through the streets in search of her objective, her mind inadvertently drifted to the day she had gained a second magic.

* * *

 **Flashback: One Year Previous, Shed in Aternum City.**

Children sobbed and whined faintly in the darkness all around her, giving voice to the despair and fear she no longer could. She had made a stupid mistake. A reckless, stupid mistake and now she was going to pay for it if she didn't figure out how to escape soon.

The slavers had managed to catch her off guard and without Bickslow's backup while she'd been giving a bit of bread to another street orphan. They had hit her head hard, stunning her while they tied her up and carted her off to a hidden location, presumably until they could arrange transportation out of Aternum and to the nearest city with a slave market, which Aternum surprisingly didn't have. She assumed they'd grabbed the other girl as well, but couldn't be sure in the dim lighting of their current location. _What do I do? What do I do? Bickslow won't be able to help and I can't use my dōjutsu against a person without killing them … plus with all of these kids around, I'd probably kill them too by accident. What do I do?_

The shadows were thick in the room, only allowing the outlines of the other children and the walls to be visible. Rihanna felt frustration well up in her, she had no idea if there was anything she could use to cut herself free, and she had no way to ask the others in the room. _The slavers are going to be back soon, if they aren't directly outside guarding the door already. There has to be some way out of here!_ Her thoughts drifted helplessly to her dōjutsu again and she dismissed it once more with increasing anguish and despair, _if only I had some other kind of magic!_

The thought made her freeze internally. _Another kind of magic._ Her thoughts suddenly unstuck and started racing, _in the anime, Bickslow had_ ** _two_** _magics, the one he used to make his "babies" and his eye magic. If I could get a second magic…!_ Her rationality decided to check in for once, _Yeah right, like I'm suddenly going to be able to learn another kind of magic on the spot just to help me out of this. That stuff only happens in anime._ Her life for the past two years saw fit to smack her over the head with memories and she mentally amended her sentence, _only happens to the main characters or in bad anime. Even in Fairy Tail, most of the characters don't randomly learn a new magic just for the situation at hand._

But then again, Erza had unlocked Requip Magic just from having a combination of belief in magic, lots of nearby tools and pointy objects, and an extremely heightened emotional state. Ultear had been able to use raw magic to blast her way out that Magic Bureau place, and Natsu … well, did she really need to say more? He seemed to get a power-up, albeit temporary a one, every story arc. Rihanna herself had mysteriously gained an dōjutsu she was sure she'd never had back in her old world.

 _But really? Triggering a secondary magic? It can't be that simple._ Rihanna scowled to herself in frustration and doubt as she realized that she had literally no other ideas on how to escape and that her time to devise a plan was rapidly running out. _Okay, Rihanna, think, what do you have available that you could use in magic?_

She looked around again desperately, part of her still not believing that she was actually trying to do this. _Urgh … I can't see enough of the room to tell what I can use! I have no idea how to trigger magic anyway. If only it wasn't so dark in here!_ Rihanna blinked to herself, _wait. Dark … darkness … shadows … Shadow Magic! Like that bad guy in the Flute arc! What was his name? K-? Kay-? K-Something, never mind. It's not important right now. Focus Rihanna! Try to do something with the shadows. Blend in or … become one with them or something._

Rihanna glared hard at the shadows, trying to will them to do as she bid. When that failed, she closed her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the hushed noises of frightened children around her and meditate. That quickly proved a failure as well when her thoughts refused to settle and stay in one place. Panic started to creep up on her again. She was trapped here, not just in this strange world, but also in an unknown location where she was going to be moved and sold like merchandise. She needed to get out, preferably get everyone else out as well, and she was running out of time to do it.

Her thoughts continued to scatter as her breathing became faster. Two years on the streets of Aternum had taught her several things, a strong disillusionment with the goodness of the nearby human populace being one of them. She'd seen slaves before, following their masters or running errands in the streets, normal except for the fact that everyone ignored them. Normal except for the brand tattooed on their cheeks and necks that marked them as property.

She didn't want that. She didn't want to become someone's walking, talking tool to be ordered about as a stranger pleased. She was a girl, a physically small, mute girl. There were so many people from back in her old world, or in Aternum, that she could see taking advantage of that. The things they could do…

 _No, no, no, no-no-no!_ Her breathing sped up, increasing to a rate that was not healthy for a person unless they were running. _No, stop! Calm down and think! Think!_

The slavers chose that moment to open the doors to their prison. Rihanna watched with wide, terrified eyes as one of the two men stepped into the room and grabbed the nearest child, a little girl with dark hair save for a grimy yet still white highlight running through it. The girl screamed, struggling and flailing against her bonds until the man slapped her on the cheek, his tone a business-like monotone, "Stop squirming."

There was no cruelty in his tone, no sneering or laughing at her fear. There was just … nothing. He felt no more about the crying child in his arms than he did over a rake or shovel. The other man barely glanced into the room before he resumed sweeping his gaze over his outside surroundings, ignoring the captives within as his companion made to carry the girl with the white highlight to the cart Rihanna could see outside.

Tear-filled eyes briefly locked with Rihanna's, revealing a perfect tableau of despair, confusion, and terror that was being completely ignored by the man hauling the girl away. Rihanna's thoughts slid and slipped into a muddied mess until she had no clear idea of what she was actually thinking. There were just impressions of understanding, knowing, feeling.

In that moment, Rihanna knew that these men truly did not see them as fellow human beings, truly did not care either way about the children they'd ripped off of the streets so long as they got paid. It was not a cruel depravity or vindictive sadism like was shown in the movies, it was simple, total, all-encompassing apathy. In that moment she knew that this was where people, children, stopping being human and became simply tools, **items** , that happened to have self-locomotion.

In that moment, Rihanna knew what it meant to feel true hatred. Hatred for men who wouldn't care about other people, wouldn't even see them as fellow living beings. Hatred for people who would just walk all over her rights as a human being without hesitation unless someone, unless **she** , put her foot down and made them stop. The hatred roared up inside her, bringing with it a primal, shrieking defiance that clawed at her insides until she felt like she was going to burst if she didn't do something. Didn't let it out.

So she did.

Sucking air into her lungs, she pushed it out forcefully in a howl of rage that couldn't be heard, simultaneously reaching out her bound hands to the shadows as if in command. **_Stop it_** _!_ The shadows, which had originally retreated from the open doorway suddenly thickened unnaturally and lunged, forming a wave of writhing darkness that slammed into the two men like battering rams. Both men went flying with wordless shouts of surprised pain, the one who had entered the room dropping the girl he'd been carrying as he flew.

Something bloomed in Rihanna's consciousness, similar to the strange, icy door behind her eyes, but also completely different. It was like invisible velvet running over her fingers and slithering up and down her arms, pooling at her feet before extending out to the still-visible wave of shadows she'd used to attack. The velvety feeling, cool yet comforting and not icy cold like the mental door, settled on her shoulders and sank into her skin, becoming a part of her that she had never had before yet somehow knew.

For a split second, her awareness expanded dizzyingly. Telling her, showing her, letting her **feel** hundreds of people all walking and moving, perceivable to her senses every time they passed through an ambient shadow. Roaring pain erupted in her temples and she curled in on herself with a silent cry, her overstrained awareness snapping back into place with a sharp jerk that pushed away the velvet feeling entirely.

For several moments, Rihanna just leaned forward so her head was almost touching her bent knees, hands curled against her chest and breath rattling harshly in her ears, trying to regain her sense of reality. Slowly, she raised her head again, looking out the open door in a mix of hope and fear. The two men were sprawled against the back of the cart they had been planning to use to transport their living wares, the faint rise and fall of their chests revealing that they were still alive, but unconscious.

The little girl who had first been picked up was now sitting on the pavement, eyes wide and staring uncomprehendingly at the unconscious men. Rihanna hissed sharply through her teeth, attracting the attention of every child there, the girl with the highlight included. Locking eyes with the girl, Rihanna raised her bound wrists and nodded to them pointedly, then pointed at the knives prominently visible on the unconscious mens' hips. She repeated the motions several more times before understanding lit in the girl's eyes and she scrambled to the men, hesitating only long enough to ensure they weren't going to grab her again before clumsily unsheathing one of the knives and sawing through her own bonds.

Rihanna watched with baited breath, hoping that the girl would come back and help them instead of running off on her own the moment she was free. The last of the ropes fell from the girl's limbs and she scrambled to her feet as if to run but then paused. Rihanna watched as the girl stared nervously around her, focusing on the unconscious men for several more moments before turning and looking inside, "W-who did that? Who did that-jan?" None of the other children moved, none daring to take credit for the terrifying shockwave of power. Rihanna slowly raised her bound hands and waved them, gaining the girl's attention.

The girl stared at her unreadably, "It was you-jan? It was really you?" Rihanna nodded and the girl scampered back inside the building, looking over her shoulder repeatedly as she did. With shaking fingers, the girl shoved the knife hilt first into Rihanna's hands, "T-thank you, but I can't- I gotta go-jan!" With that, she turned and fled, leaving Rihanna and the others behind. Rihanna shook away the vague sense of recognition that had swept over her at the girl's vocal tic, turning her attention instead to the knife in her hands.

Shaking minutely, Rihanna freed herself from the ropes and then proceeded to carefully free everyone else in the room. She made sure to start with the youngest so that they would have head starts in case the men woke up before she was finished. One by one they shot away, some sparing a thankful yet fearful glance her way, others not even doing that.

The girl with the highlight was the only one that day to actually say "thank you" to her face, but Rihanna didn't really mind. The children, and herself, were free for now and that's what counted.

 **End Flashback.**

* * *

Bickslow had freaked out when she came home, bruised and with rope impressions on her wrists and ankles, and she suspected it was her disappearance and then battered reappearance that had sparked the next change in her life.

A few weeks after the incident, Bickslow had come back with a thick, clearly old leather-bound book that had strange runes and kanji inscribed on the cover. Rihanna had no idea where or how he'd gotten it, but the world-weary look in his eyes had been enough to convince her that she didn't want to know. She'd been surprised that Bickslow could read, and still wasn't sure how much of the stolen book he could actually comprehend, but in the end it hadn't really mattered.

The book had turned out to be about Seith Magic and, after the theft of several toy tiki dolls from a traveling vendor and a few explosions, Pappa and Peppe joined their makeshift family.

Needless to say, the townspeople were now thoroughly, hopelessly terrified of Bickslow and Rihanna.

 _Not that that fear helps me much right now,_ Rihanna grumbled mentally to herself as she ducked briefly into a shadow to avoid being spotted in her hunt around the marketplace. Greyscale inverted her vision as cool velvet shadows embraced her, welcoming her into their realm for a few moments before the coast cleared and Rihanna stepped back into the sunlight to resume her urgent quest.

Shadow Magic was, compared to her still-nameless dōjutsu, much easier to learn and in the year following her first use of it, she'd already learned how to perform three spells. The first was a refined version of the shockwave she'd first used, one that didn't give her a migraine and was more easily controlled to go in one direction. The second was using a tendril of shadow to grab or poke something out of her normal reach, which was trickier than it sounded because it needed a lot of concentration. The third was the hardest and one she could only hold for a few minutes at best. It was the act of stepping into shadows, essentially becoming a shadow, unnoticed to all. The third had been discovered completely by accident during a retreat from a particularly persistent slaver, but that was a memory to be pondered over another time.

Shadow Magic was a very useful power when she had to steal something on her own. Like now, when she was trying to procure something easily swallowed for Bickslow. _Though it would be better if I could get him medicine, rather than questionable street soup._ Rihanna frowned and glanced over her shoulder, worry overtaking her at the reasons behind her current excursion.

Bickslow was sick. Very, very sick. So sick that he refused to move from underneath the blanket they'd stolen last winter and couldn't keep down hard foods like fruits and dry breads. Rihanna was trying her best to help him, spending nights mopping his feverish forehead and days hunting for clean water and soups that she could steal to try to feed him. She knew he needed medicine, but she had no money to pay for a doctor and no idea what to steal for him to make him feel better.

She rubbed one tired eye with the heel of her hand briefly, fighting the fatigue that plagued her and threatened to make her slip up. Shaking her head to clear it, she focused on the ramen stand just up ahead. Taking a deep breath, she carefully slipped into a position nearby where she could see into the stand, but remain unnoticed by passersby.

 _Come on, come on, someone's got to want ramen at this time of day…_ Finally, just as she was starting to fight the urge to doze, a young teen ducked into the ramen stand and ordered miso. Rihanna tensed, one hand twitching as she coaxed a single tendril of shadow into forming. It slithered carefully over the ground, inching to a stop at the base of the ramen bar next to the young man's seat. The time waiting for the ramen to be served was agonizing, with Rihanna's building adrenaline fighting an uphill battle with the fatigue that had stubbornly settled in after three nights in a row of tending to Bickslow.

To distract herself from how tired she was, she focused her gaze on the teen, examining his appearance for signs of trouble. He was positioned in such a way that she could only see his left side, but he looked normal enough despite the way his clothing indicated that he was not from Aternum. He was wearing a sleeveless, formfitting red shirt with gold edging and a surprisingly high collar that hid most of his neck. He had turquoise eyes that looked at everything animatedly while his black hair bobbed and fell in soft, wavy spikes around his ears. His legs were encased in black cargo pants and his entire outfit was rounded off with practical lace-up boots.

All-in-all, he was fairly good-looking, but didn't particularly stand out to her except for the way he held himself. Something about his posture and the way his turquoise eyes moved animatedly about stood out to Rihanna and made her vaguely wary. She shook it off when the owner of the ramen stand finally set the bowl of steaming soup down in front of the teen.

Taking a deep breath, Rihanna reached out to the velvety shadow tendril and sent it shooting up the bar. It suddenly detached from the wood surface, becoming three-dimensional just as it reached the bowl. Her fingers curled slightly and the shadow tendril coiled tightly around the bowl in response. The shopkeeper leapt backward with a yell of terror while the teen customer fell off of his chair with a surprised shout. Rihanna ignored their cries as she pulled her hand back, dragging the shadow tendril and its slightly sloshing prize back to her position with as much speed as she dared.

Grabbing the hot bowl with both hands the moment it was in reach, she dropped the shadow tendril and took off down the nearest alley, heart hammering as she heard a distinctively unfamiliar voice yell, "Oi! Wait! Come back with that!"

Rihanna dared to glance over her shoulder before quickly looking back to where she was going with an inward curse. The teen was following her, half an alley behind and catching up by way of his longer legs, "O-oi! I said wait!" Rihanna spun around a corner, hissing in pain as some of the hot soup sloshed over the lip of the bowl and splashed scaldingly over her fingers. Behind her, she heard a crash and clatter of the teen overshooting the turn and bouncing off one of the dumpsters. Rihanna forced her legs to go faster, trying to put extra distance between herself and the teen from whom she had stolen.

 _Come on! Come on!_ The Restaurant District was closer to the old church than the Market District, with the alley shortcuts she'd long since memorized decreasing the distance even further. If she could just break eye contact and get into the church before her pursuer caught up and spotted her again-

The clear stretch of alley leading to the church suddenly gained an obstacle and, unable to stop, Rihanna crashed directly into it, spilling hot ramen soup everywhere and sending the bowl flying and clattering to the ground a short distance away. Rihanna recoiled, the burning sensation that had been localized to her fingers now having been spread to her lower arms and legs by the crash. She exhaled sharply in what used to be a cry of pain as she overbalanced and fell hard onto her rear.

It took a moment of dazedly blinking away the tears her frustration and hurt had summoned to realize that the obstacle she had crashed into was in pain as well, "Ow, ow, **ow**. Darn that's hot…" She looked up, breath catching in shock when she accidentally met the gaze of the teen with turquoise eyes. _How did he get ahead of me? He just appeared out of nowhere!_

That thought was abruptly pushed aside by another, far more distressing realization, _the ramen!_ With a gasp, she rolled to her hands and knees and scrabbled over to the discarded bowl, despairing when she saw that most of its contents were now scattered all over the alley ground. Pulling it's slick surface closer to her, she stared down at the pitiful amount of still edible food left in the bowl and tried once more to blink back tears. _I can't give Bickslow the ramen that got on the ground, that would be unsanitary enough for a healthy person, let alone a sick boy! But this … there's not even enough liquid left to help him keep it down._

Her cheeks became wet and her shoulders hitched as she lost the war with her tears and they started rolling freely downward, heedless of her mental scolding that as an adult in mind, if not body, she should calm down and think of another solution. A hand cautiously touched her shoulder and she flinched violently away, scrambling backward and still clutching what remained of the ramen to her chest possessively.

The teen pulled his hand back slightly, an unsure look on his face, "Hey, whoa! I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted you to stop running." He saw her tears and his expression became distinctly panicky, "O-oi, oi! Don't cry! Are you burned? I didn't think you'd crash into me like that, the bowl didn't chip and cut you did it? Hey…"

He reached out to touch her again and Rihanna snarled silently, rage sparking from the fuel of her frustration and worry, _get away from me!_ The shadows swirled at her feet and launched at him, sending him crashing into the opposite wall with a rush of expelled air from his lungs. The teen collapsed and Rihanna took her chance, leaping to her feet and running away again, still clutching the bowl. It probably didn't have enough liquid left to help Bickslow keep it down, but she didn't have time hunt down another bowl of soup and she had to try giving him **something**.

She hastily circled around to the hole in the church wall, which had been accidentally widened four months ago by a training accident with her dōjutsu, and made for the belfry as fast as she dared with the remnants of her precious cargo. The stairs creaked under her heedless steps and the door groaned on rusty hinges as she pushed it open and stepped inside before heedlessly kicking it shut with her foot.

Pappa listlessly stirred from where it was lying against Bickslow's huddled form, glowing green eyes unnaturally dim. It twitched faintly as if in greeting, unable to make even the squeakiest of voices because of how sick and tired its master was. Pippi didn't even do that much, its eyes so dim she was afraid for a moment that it had gone completely dormant.

Rihanna chewed her lip worriedly, the activity of Bickslow's "babies" often reflected his own emotional or physical status and if they were so listless… _he's getting worse._ Crouching down, Rihanna set the bowl down, moving away from Bickslow's side only to retrieve the spoon she'd managed to steal soon after Bickslow had first fallen ill.

Settling down on his left side, Rihanna lightly shook his shoulder, trying to wake him up. When he didn't stir, she shook him harder, letting a whistle escape her lips in an effort to wake him up. At this, Bickslow groaned faintly, tilting his head away from the noise, but otherwise showing no signs of being awake. Rihanna felt her worried frown deepen as something frantic bloomed in her chest. Moving her hand away from his shoulder, she pressed the back of it against his forehead and almost recoiled at its temperature. _He's way too hot. His fever's only getting worse. What do I do?_ Setting the spoon down, she grabbed both of Bickslow's shoulders and shook them, whistling at a louder and louder volume in the hopes it would wake him up.

She was so absorbed in trying to wake Bickslow up, because being that deeply unconscious while running a fever that high **couldn't** be a good sign, she didn't hear the telltale creaking of the stairs behind her. It wasn't until the door squealed in protest to being opened that she whipped around, eyes wide in panic. The teen she'd stolen the ramen from was standing in the doorway, his eyes fastened on Bickslow and her, mouth partially open as if to say something.

Three years of instinct formed on Aternum's street and a healthy Chicago street paranoia had Rihanna stumbling to place herself between the teen and Bickslow, arms spread and senses reaching for the shadows. _Why couldn't he just give up and leave us alone? Why?_ Rihanna gritted her teeth, ready to do something, anything, should the teen make a threatening move.

Her mind almost stalled when instead, he crouched down in the doorway and held up his hands in a surrender, "Whoa, hey, easy. I'm not going to hurt either of you." His eyes drifted briefly to the abandoned bowl of ramen before flicking back to her, "That's why you stole my ramen, huh? To help him?" Rihanna glared silently, barely allowing herself to respond with a curt nod. The teen leaned a bit to one side to look past her at Bickslow and Rihanna defensively rearranged her position.

The teen was frowning now, his expression troubled, "He doesn't look so good…" _No kidding Mister Obvious._ Rihanna intensified her glare, trying to communicate that he should go away. Instead of leaving or turning into a convenient pile of ash under her glare, he held out a hand toward her, "He needs a doctor, badly. Do you know where to find one? Is there a hospital nearby?"

Rihanna's jaw tightened, her heart waging a war between paranoia and hope for help. Slowly, she shook her head. Even if she did somehow have the money and means to take Bickslow to the local hospital, no one would treat him. The townspeople might not dare to intentionally hurt him themselves, but that didn't mean they weren't perfectly willing to let him die on his own. Aternum was a weirdly bipolar city like that. They didn't mind everyday magic, or even the occasional mage from what she'd seen, but Bickslow's eye magic … they hated him for it and would like nothing better than to see him die because of it.

The teen stood up and took a step further into the belfry, causing Rihanna to tense despite herself. She'd spent three years trusting only Bickslow, and an entire lifetime before that trusting only a handful of people. This stranger who had chased her so stubbornly and made her spill the precious ramen was definitely **not** on her list of trusted people. Or even the maybe-trustworthy-as-an-acquaintance list. Seeing her tensing and perhaps remembering the way she'd sent him flying into a wall last time, he stopped and said soothingly, "Easy, I just want to help you."

Rihanna narrowed her eyes, trying to silently demand why he would want to help Bickslow and her of all people. Luckily for her short, frayed temper, he got the question behind her narrowed eyes immediately. His answer however, was nothing like what she expected. Crouching again, he smiled faintly, "I'm from a guild in the kingdom of Fiore. That means it's my job to help people. Ah, but I haven't even told you my name." He twisted at the waist so that she could see his right shoulder as he introduced himself, showing off his guild mark in its entirety as he introduced himself to a stunned Rihanna, "My name is Mest. Mest Gryder of Fairy Tail."

Rihanna felt her thoughts stop, restart, then shut down again as she stared unashamedly at the proud, iconic little symbol emblazoned on the teen- on Mest's right shoulder. _He … Fairy Tail? Really and truly Fairy Tail? I don't even- What kind of freak circumstances would cause a member of Fairy Tail to find us? Seriously?_ " _Ano_ …" The hesitant mumble had her gaze snapping reluctantly away from the iconic red symbol to scrutinize Mest's face. _Fairy Tail … can I really trust him? Everyone who is a part of Fairy Tail in the anime are really, really kind and amazing people but is that true in reality? Do I even have a choice?_

* * *

 **P.S. Kudos to anyone who spots the unnamed anime character who features in this chapter.**


	5. Chapter 4: Rescue From Aternum

**Hello! Here with a new chapter, so hopefully you all enjoy it! Which, you know, is hard to tell when nobody tells me anything... (give sad puppy eyes). Anyhow! Three more canon character show up, no spoiler warnings needed with them, so there's one worry out of the way!**

 **Review Response: Dear Wandering Mage011, hi there! Thank you for reviewing and for the compliment! I'm glad you like this story! Bickslow doesn't get much attention outside of Bixanna stories does he? At least, I've had a lot of trouble finding stories featuring him outside those. Hope you like this new chapter as well!**

 **Author's Note: So, the new canon characters that show up in this chapter should really need no introduction, but I'll give one anyway. Please welcome Makarov the San-Daime Master of Fairy Tail, Porlyusica the misanthropic wonder-medic, and Macao the ... well, just Macao I guess. He doesn't really have a distinctive moniker yet does he? Anyway, on with the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Rescue From Aternum**

Mest watched a multitude of emotions wrestle with each other behind the girl's eyes and felt the urge to punch someone rise up very strongly within him. No child should be out on the streets without a home. No child should be so small and obviously underfed. No child should feel the need to shield her sick sibling with her body as if expecting an attack. No child should look at someone who wanted to help her with such paranoid, old eyes. _Maybe that's because no one else has ever tried to help her. Or her friend._

Something in him stomach flipped at that thought. He was only in Aternum by happenstance, a whim that had caused him to teleport across the border of Fiore and Bosco to visit a famous tourist sight despite it not being a festival week. If he hadn't come along to help, what would have happened to the little girl and her ill friend? _Because I_ ** _will_** _help, even if I have to forcibly teleport them back to Fiore to do it._

Taking a deep breath to ensure none of his anger would leak through and frighten the girl, he said softly, "Let me help you … please."

Hazel eyes stared into his, as if trying to see beyond them and into his very soul. Her teeth worried her bottom lip silently, head tilted to study him and inadvertently revealing the ugly scar running across her throat. Anger spiked through him again as he suddenly got a suspicion on why she hadn't spoken to him at all. His suspicion and plans for revenge on whoever inflicted such a scar were pushed aside as, with a hesitance that was heartbreaking, the girl nodded.

He smiled down at her, "Good. Uh … are you sure there's no hospital nearby I can take you? I'll pay for it…" The girl's face immediately morphed into a scowl as she shook her head vehemently. Seeing his confused expression, she pointed a shaking hand at the sick boy's forehead. Mest came further into the room to get a better look at what she was pointing at. He blinked when he spotted the dark blue stick-figure tattoo displayed prominently on the feverish forehead. He glanced at the little girl again, puzzled, "Uh…."

She glared at him in a way clearly conveyed to him what her opinion on his intelligence level was. She looked around the belfry for a moment before giving a inaudible sigh and pointing first at the stick-figure tattoo, then at the long scar running across her throat. She repeated the motion a few times and then looked at him expectantly.

Mest tried to put together what she meant and came up mostly blank, "You … got the scar the same time he go the tattoo? What does that have to do with the hospital?" She shook her head and he tried again, "That thing is a scar? But it's colored, it can't be a scar." She shook her head again and Mest sighed with impatience, "I don't think your friend has time for charades right now, so we should just get going. I'm going to pick him up now, you'll follow me, right?"

The girl nodded and watched warily as he carefully bundled the feverish boy and his ratty blanket into his arms. He grunted slightly at the child's weight even though he suspected that it was far less than it should have been. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the girl carefully gather up two tiki dolls and an antique book before following him down the stairs and out of the abandoned church.

The old, partially rotted wooden doors were standing open, just as he'd left them when he'd wandered in, and Mest wasted no time in exiting the old building and making for a more populated section of Aternum. The girl followed on his heels, looking increasingly nervous, then outright horrified as Mest approached the first civilian to cross their path. Ignoring her insistent tugging on his shirt temporarily, he hurried over to the well-to-do man, " _Sumimasen_! This boy needs a doctor right away, which way is the nearest hospital?"

The man stepped toward him, an expression on concern on his face, "Oh, it's-" The man's expression suddenly faltered when he caught sight of the boy's face and then he physically recoiled, "The demon!"

Mest blinked, "Excuse me?"

The man pointed a shaking figure at the sick boy in Mest's arms and hissed, "No doctor will even touch that … that **demon**! It is a soul-stealer! You should put it back where you found it and pray it finally dies!" A low hissing sound drew both of their attention down to the girl by Mest's leg. Her teeth were bared at the man like a dog, one hand clutching the tiki dolls and book to her chest and the other fisted firmly in the lower back of Mest's shirt. Her expression was filled with a knowing, an utter loathing, that no person should be able to convey, especially not a child.

The man bared his teeth back at her even as he back up even more, his shouting beginning to attract the attention of the other passersby, "The tainted child! The one the demon corrupted! Get away! Get away **monster**!"

Mest felt his temper explode, "How dare you call her that? Call either of them that? They're just **kids**!"

The man stared unreadably at Mest, "Those things are not children! They are plagues upon our town that you would do well to avoid before they irrevocably taint you as well!"

Mest's outraged reply got stuck in his throat when he realized that they were surrounded by a crowd of Aternum citizens … all of whom were nodding and grumbling in agreement with the man who had spoken so cruelly. He looked around, searching the crowd for a single face, a single sign that the entire town wasn't hateful and against two homeless little children. However, he saw nothing but the same opinion, the same belief as the first man reflected in each face and voice.

A wordless snarl of rage exploded from his throat as he protectively held the boy closer to his chest, _of all the-!_ Something unrepeatable and not fit for the ears of the little girl by his side rippled from between his clenched teeth and with a surge of magic power and a snap of focus, he teleported all three of them, leaving Bosco and its city of Aternum behind.

The world around him blurred for a moment as his anger and magic power carried him much farther than he normally would have pushed it, transporting him to the one place his subconscious registered as an absolute safe haven. He stumbled a bit as he landed. The enormous magic drain from crossing hundreds of miles in a handful of seconds, coupled with the weight of the boy in his arms and girl still firmly clinging to the bottom of his shirt all trying to knock him over. Barely regaining his feet, Mest panted heavily and shook himself, he still needed to get the boy to a doctor. _Considering what I just saw and heard from those … people, both of them should probably see a doctor, actually._

Straightening up, Mest glanced down at the girl to see if she'd passed out from the teleport. Some of his "passengers" did that their first and second times. Granted, those were usually the civilian ones, but she was a malnourished child, so it was definitely a possibility. _Probably should have thought of that before I teleported._ Still, it had either been leave or start trying to punch the daylights out of every sneering face there despite the boy in his arms.

The girl looked decidedly dazed. Her dirt-darkened skin looked decidedly pale under the grime and her eyes were unfocused as she slumped on the ground next to him. Her hand that fisted in the fabric of his shirt caused her to lean against him in an effort to stay semi-upright. Mest staggered a bit as she did so before regaining his balance and saying, "Hey, hey are you okay? You aren't going to pass out are you? Sorry I didn't give you a little more warning, but I thought we should get out of there fast." _Before I caused an international incident. The Master might_ ** _actually_** _have kittens this time if I did that._

The girl blinked slowly and looked up at him groggily. Blinking one more time, she then promptly passed out, inadvertently dragging him down with her. Mest yelped as he fell backward, his lungs deflating with a whoosh as he hit the hard cobblestones of Magnolia's roads with the boy on top of him. _Ow…_

He lay there for a few minutes, gasping for air and trying to shake off the fatigue of stretching his magic power a bit too far, ignoring the curious glances passersby gave him. Eventually, a shadow fell over him and he squinted up at the outline of one of the guild's older members, "Oi, … Mest wasn't it? You okay? Who're the kids?"

Mest sat up slowly with a grunt, still keeping a firm grip on the shivering yet sweating child in his arms, "The kids … they need a doctor. Right now, the boy has a really high fever and the girl…" He thought about the scar on her throat and the stick-figure tattoo on the boy. He remembered how the girl's answer to his question about a doctor in Aternum had been a vehement shake of the head and a pointing session at both unusual markings. He also remembered the hateful loathing of the townspeople and a bit of bile rose in his throat as his active imagination finally put the pieces together. Swallowing down the bile, he hissed, "The people of their hometown-"

He shook his head to clear it of those thoughts, _later. That doesn't matter right now._ "Just … can you help me carry them? They're both in a bad way and I overused my magic just now."

The fellow guild member, Macao if he remembered right, immediately nodded and took the boy from his arms, "Yikes! He's burning up! Where did you find him?"

Mest gently picked up the girl and they started hurrying toward the hospital, "Tell you later, let's just go."

* * *

Beeping. Insistent, low volume beeping that was steadily driving her nuts as she became increasingly aware of it. As if in response to her growing irritation, it increased in pitch and frequency and succeeded in dragging her further out of blissful oblivion. Blearily, Rihanna stirred, tilting her head from one side to the other before daring to crack open her eyes. She slammed them shut a moment later when light slipped through the cracks and stabbed her unprepared pupils mercilessly.

 _No…_ a childish part of her whined mentally, unable even try groaning it out loud, _wanna sleep some more…_ "So, you finally decide to wake up? Good, I was starting to think that idiot boy had broken something when he teleported you. Honestly, what was he thinking? Teleporting two sick, malnourished children without warning hundreds of miles in one go? This is why I hate associating with such an idiot race…"

 _Who?_ The voice finally registered as adult, cranky, and unfamiliar and Rihanna's eyes snapped open. Squinting against the light, she sat up straight and recoiled from the direction the voice had come from, _adult-yelling-chasing-hurting-don't-trust-!_ The surface underneath her suddenly ceased to exist and she fell onto the unforgiving floor with a pained exhale and a rapid increase in the beeping that had awoken her.

Squinting and panting, Rihanna crawled backwards, trying to distance herself from the stranger in the room until she could determine who it was and what their intentions were. The back of her head promptly smacked against something when she went too far and she doubled over, clutching her head in an effort to make the room stop spinning. Somewhere above and in front of her, someone sighed and muttered, " _Sonna mendoi kodomo…_ "

 _Who?_ Shakily, Rihanna looked up a little bit. Dark red shoes peeked out from a long red skirt no more than a foot or so away from her. Rihanna jerked her gaze upward, resisting the urge to scoot backward for fear of hitting her head again. Stern red eyes set in an aged face and framed by cherry-blossom pink hair stared back at her. Rihanna let out a hiccup of air in an instinctive yet silent squeak as her memories finally came crashing back to her and she realized that she was now, somehow, in the presence of the infamous Porlyusica.

Porlyusica raised one thin eyebrow briefly before returning to a stern yet neutral expression, "And what gave you the idea that falling out of a perfectly good bed was a worthwhile endeavor?" The older woman's tone was scolding, yet no where near as biting as Rihanna had expected it to be. Blinking once at Porlyusica's words, Rihanna looked around the room to discover that she had indeed fallen out of a bed that was just one in a row of beds in a large room.

The room smelled of disinfectant, but it didn't look like a hospital. The walls were a mix of stone and wood, with large windows on one end to let daylight stream in and a door on the other side that presumably led to the rest of the building. It looked more like a dormitory of some kind than anything else Rihanna could think of. _Where? What?_ "You are in the private infirmary of the Fiore guild Fairy Tail. You and your friend were brought here after getting treatment in the hospital for malnourishment and several other problems. You've been unconscious from shock, malnourishment, and magic drain for a few days. _Wakarimasu ka_?"

Rihanna looked back at Porlyusica and nodded slowly before part of her words fully sank in and Rihanna scrambled to her feet, looking around frantically. _Bickslow! Where-?_ Her panicky search came to a quick end when she turned fully around and realized that the thing she'd hit her head against earlier was Bickslow's bed. Ignoring Porlyusica for a moment, Rihanna scrambled up onto Bickslow's bed, reaching out to hold his limp hand as she scanned his sleeping form worriedly.

His hand was cooler, not overly hot like it had been last time she'd held it, and his breathing was much steadier and more peaceful. His face was relaxed, showing the innocence of his age, and his skin and hair were truly clean for the first time Rihanna could remember. Pappa and Pippi were next to against each other on the nightstand, seemingly in the dormant state they always fell into when Bickslow was truly asleep. Attached to his right wrist was some kind of metal bracelet and on the right side of his bed was what looked like a vitals monitor.

"Your friend is fine now, he's just resting." Rihanna looked over at Porlyusica, who had spoken in a surprisingly gentle tone. As Rihanna locked gazes with the aged Fairy Tail medical advisor, she was surprised to see that the elder woman's expression had softened somewhat. Porlyusica tilted her head slightly as she held out a hand toward Rihanna, but didn't attempt to touch her, "I need to remove the monitoring bracelet from your wrist. You don't need it now that you're clearly awake and moving."

Rihanna glanced down at her right wrist, startled to realize that there was a bracelet attached to her wrist identical in appearance to Bickslow's. _So that's what it's for, it's how the vitals monitor receives data. So Fiore has wireless? Who knew?_ Looking back up at Porlyusica, Rihanna slowly held out her wrist, suppressing the urge to shy away when the larger hands touched her wrist and arm.

Inwardly, Rihanna scolded herself for tensing at the minimal contact, _you're an adult, not a traumatized puppy! She isn't going to hurt you, she's just an old woman who serves as Fairy Tail's misanthropic medic. She isn't going to drag you off somewhere and throw you in a dark room-_ Rihanna cut off that line of thought pointedly and focused on watching Porlyusica remove the device from her wrist.

If Porlyusica had noticed the tensing and aborted shying away motion, she didn't show it. She simply unbuckled the device and set it aside on the nightstand next to Pappa and Pippi before turning back to Rihanna, "Can you write, child?"

Rihanna considered the question, _I can write in english, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to tell her that. Japanese is the dominant language here and the only times I've seen english letters used is for Levy's magic spells or really big, fancy signs. If those letters are only used for magic spells, then how could I explain my knowing them? How would they even react? What if it's a bad thing?_

Paranoia warred with her desire to believe the best of Porlyusica based on her memories of the woman from the series. Paranoia and the uncomfortable knowledge that she was in this world now and Porlyusica was not a character of a T.V. series who would react in a scripted way caused her to shrug and shake her head, hoping Porlyusica didn't notice the pause between the question and answer.

The pinkette narrowed her eyes slightly but didn't call Rihanna on her answer. Instead, she changed the subject, "The Master of Fairy Tail wishes to speak to you. Do you feel well enough to see him? Or would you rather wait until your friend wakes up?"

Rihanna immediately pointed at Bickslow to indicate she wanted to wait until the boy had woken up before facing the friendly, deceptively silly yet venerable Makarov. Porlyusica nodded, surprising Rihanna with her lack of need for clarification, "Very well. I will bring something for you to eat while you wait. Don't leave the room and don't make any trouble."

Rihanna nodded obediently as Porlyusica swept out of the room, leaving Rihanna feeling vaguely unbalanced and confused. Everything was happening too fast and … easy somehow. She expected more trouble after what the past three years in Earthland had been like. Porlyusica had been very … peaceful. Exasperated and stern, yes, but nowhere near the cranky old lady who threatened people with brooms just for being human and in her enormous, forest-sized personal space bubble.

 _Maybe because I'm her patient? Then again, she slapped an unconscious Makarov when he was her patient. So maybe she has a tiny soft spot for little kids? Huh…_ Rihanna mused over that line of thought and several other random strands of contemplation to keep herself calm as she sat on Bickslow's bed, waiting for him to wake up. Porlyusica returned with some light soup and gloriously fresh bread that Rihanna had to restrain herself from wolfing down under the medic's watchful gaze.

Once she was done eating the biggest, freshest meal she'd had in a long, long time, Rihanna took advantage of her smaller size and curled up on Bickslow's bed. Gently, she clasped his left hand with her own, lying by his left side to avoid bumping the wrist monitor on his right. Her thoughts flitted this way and that, wondering how they'd suddenly gone from Aternum to Magnolia, considering what they'd do now, remembering her old life…

She hadn't realized she'd dozed off until Bickslow grunted and shifted, moving the hand trapped between her palm and her cheek as he came back to consciousness. Rihanna immediately sat up and crawled forward to lean over Bickslow's face, agitatedly looking for a sign that he was really waking up.

Bickslow's red eyes blinked open once, twice, then he jerked away from her with a yelp and a flash of glowing green irises. Rihanna pulled away as a precaution against forehead-to-forehead collisions. She'd experienced those before and they weren't anywhere near as funny, or painless, as the cartoons made them out to be. Bickslow stared dazedly at her for a few seconds before his eyes went wide, " _Imōto_!" Something on the nightstand clattered as his two dolls suddenly surged back to life, chanting the word in squeaky voices as they started zipping around her head hysterically.

Rihanna instinctively covered her head with her hands in case Pippi misjudged the distance and smacked into her head like it sometimes did. The dizzying loop-de-loops and squeaking eventually slowed to a stop as Bickslow took in his unfamiliar surroundings. He tensed warily when he spotted Porlyusica watching the scene from the other end of the room with a vaguely exasperated expression. Rihanna gave a tiny hiccup of air in surprised when Bickslow tugged her closer to his chest and snarled at Porlyusica, "Who're you? Where are we? What do you want with us?"

Pappa and Pippi slid into a defensive formation above Bickslow's head, chanting in a way that was probably supposed to be menacing, " _Nani ka_? _Nani ka_?"

Porlyusica looked distinctly unimpressed as she responded, "I am Porlyusica, medical advisor to the Fairy Tail Guild. You are currently in Magnolia, a town in the country of Fiore. You were brought here for medical treatment by one of the Fairy Tail mages after he found the girl trying to steal soup for you."

Bickslow looked stunned about that for a moment before glancing sharply at Rihanna, "That true, Wren?" Rihanna nodded, then pointed at Porlyusica with a smile and pattern of three whistles in an ascending scale. It was one of the signals they'd developed to communicate around Rihanna's muteness. It was actually the signal for when she spotted something extra nice to steal, but she figured Bickslow would be smart enough to cut out the "to steal" part when it involved a person and leave behind the "extra nice".

Bickslow gave Rihanna a blink before turning his gaze back to Porlyusica, his expression suspicious but considering, " _Imōto_ says you're nice. Why?"

Porlyusica raised a slender eyebrow, "Does she now? Well, I have no idea what gave her that impression. I only volunteered to take care of you while you were recovering so that you wouldn't wake up in an unfamiliar hospital. I only made sure your … sister wasn't about to come down with the same sickness as you or worse. I only stayed in this human infested city for two days, away from my quiet home and garden to make sure you would both wake up and be healthy. I only used my special herbs to ensure your recovery was swifter and more comfortable than it normally would be. Nothing more than **that**." Her sarcasm was about as dull as a freshly sharpened carving knife and Bickslow actually looked sheepish by the end of it as well as completely baffled.

"Well, why would you do all that? What do you want from us in return?" His expression took a darker tone and his eyes flickered ominously to green, "If you're trying to make us your slaves out of a debt-!"

A new voice interrupted Bickslow, "No one is a slave here, child, and no one ever will be." Rihanna stiffened instantly, heart jumping into her throat briefly. It was an old voice, warm and gentle, yet slightly rough and rolling. It sent chills of nostalgia rolling down her spine and she knew without a doubt who it was even before she turned to look.

Walking into the infirmary, expression serious yet kind, was Makarov Dreyar. Third Guild Master of Fairy Tail, member of the Ten Wizard Saints, grandfather of Laxus, and father figure of ninety percent of the main cast. He was by far one of the most legendary, powerful, and crucial figures in the entire Fairy Tail plotline.

Yet, despite all that, the first thought that popped into Rihanna's head upon seeing him was, _holy Pantherlilies he's shorter than I am._ Her unabashed staring went uncontested for the moment as Makarov turned serious eyes on Bickslow, "Fiore is not like Bosco, child, slavery is illegal here. More than that, the building in which you stand belongs to the Fairy Tail guild, and freedom is as integral, as crucial, to each and every one of us as our beating hearts and the air we breathe. We do not take that from anyone, just as we do not let anyone take that from us."

Bickslow had gone very still, his stiff body posture and the frozen posture of his dolls indicating that Makarov had both surprised and, grudgingly, impressed him. Bickslow swallowed slightly before asking, "W-who are you?"

Makarov came closer, his eyes sweeping over the two of them without judgement or scorn, his lips twitching into a gentle smile, "My name is Makarov Dreyar, I am the Master of the Fairy Tail guild."

Rihanna could tell without looking that Bickslow was frowning, "I thought you said there were no slaves here. How can you be a master if no one's a slave?"

Makarov hummed faintly and cocked his head to one side, "There are sometimes many meanings to a single word, the word master included. As Master of a guild, I am its leader, its protector, and the teacher of those who are under my care. All of the guild members are my children, just as I am their devoted parent. By holding the title 'Master of Fairy Tail', I take on the responsibility of watching over, teaching, defending, and disciplining all those who come under my wing."

His gaze swung away from them, staring at the window absently as he continued speaking, the conviction and honesty in his voice rattling Rihanna to her core despite already knowing what kind of things he believed in, "By holding that title, I accept that should a member of Fairy Tail do wrong to another person, I must be the one to punish them, no matter who they may be or how it pains my heart to do so. Should they be threatened, I must be the one to defend them, no matter if the price for their safety is my own life. I am called Master, yes, but in truth, I am only a shoulder on which to lean on and an example from which to learn."

His gaze, old and wise yet not threatening despite its depth, returned to them, "And if you wish it, I would like very much to be those things for you two as well."

* * *

Bickslow stared disbelievingly at Makarov, trying to wrap his brain around the … the utterly impossible nonsense the tiny adult had just spouted. An adult caring for children? Taking care of them? Supporting and teaching them like a parent? All that stuff about caring and love and support didn't come anywhere near the things he associated with the word "parent". Or the word "adult" for that matter. On top of all that, he had just offered to … let them into his guild?

Bickslow bared his teeth and stuck out his tongue in a contemptuous smile to hide the raw, vulnerable chord the speech and offer had struck in him, "Join your guild? Are you crazy, old man? No one wants us, we're **cursed**. Even people who want to use us are too afraid to come near us, and you should be too!"

The old man just raised an eyebrow, "Oh? What kind of curse?"

Bickslow glared, letting his eyes shine with the power that had both saved him and cursed him for the majority of his life, " **This** kind, old man. I can see your soul, I could even take it if I wanted. I can make you do anything I want you to and all I'd have to do is look you in the eyes for a second. Wren here could freeze you and blow you up at the same time just by **glaring** at you."

Wren was nudging him, hissing quietly through her teeth in the way she did when she wanted him to shut up, but he refused to do so. He refused to get his hopes up about the pretty words people spoke before they realized who he was. Before they recognized the brand on his face. He would face their scorn and unveil their lies as fast as possible so that Wren and he could hurry up and escape.

The old woman, the one Wren had called extra nice, suddenly spoke up, "Don't be stupid. You have an eye magic, not a curse. It's a genetic condition, usually triggered by reaching a certain developmental stage, but also triggered by some kind of shocking or traumatic event. Probably the latter judging by your sister's and your age."

Bickslow turned his head to stare at her, thoughts tumbling together at her words and her colors. They were truth colors, colors of someone who was stating facts or an honest opinion without caring who it offended. He'd seen those colors often enough when people called him a demon, but they'd usually been mixed with large doses of fear colors and hate colors. To see them all by themselves was … unnerving.

The old man spoke again, seemingly unperturbed by Bickslow's words, "Being able to do things other cannot is not a curse. Neither is being able to see things they don't, or hear things they can't. It just means you have a talent that others do not possess. A talent that must be nurtured and trained until it blooms into its full potential."

Bickslow watched the old man intently as he spoke, scanning every flicker of color, every impression and whisper, growing more confused and hopeful against his will the longer he stared. The old man was like no one he'd ever seen before, with colors that were warm like the sun and strong as a summer thunderstorm. Orange fire of conviction danced and intertwined with the white-blue of truth and a deep forest green color he had only ever seen directed his way when it belonged to Wren.

It was the color that danced through her when she hugged him after a particularly nasty insult had been thrown his way, the color that flared brilliantly when she smiled at him and treated him like he was someone amazing and not cursed. It hit him that he didn't even have a name for that color. He didn't know what it was. But he wanted, so very desperately, to see more of it. To learn what it was. To see it directed his way as much as possible and to learn how to give that color to someone else in return.

To give it like this strange old man was doing, despite seeing Bickslow's eyes and hearing about his power. Bickslow's hands were shaking as he looked down at Wren, unsure what to do or say and looking instinctively to the only other person in the world he trusted, "What … what do you think, _Imōto_?"

Wren's colors flickered and twisted rapidly as she stared back at him thoughtfully, the sunshine yellow of her excitement coiling around that mysterious forest green and sparking with the purple of contemplation. Her colors suddenly settled and were lit with a orange brilliance as she smiled at him, pointed at the old man, and gave three ascending whistles. She followed the whistles by pointing her index finger at the ceiling and spinning it in a circle, one slow descending whistle leaving her lips before she turned to face the old man and beamed at him with a vigorous nod.

The signal for something extra nice, the signal to follow, and a smile at the man who was so different from any adult Bickslow had ever met. He knew what she was saying, just as clearly as if she'd been able to use words to convey it, _"He's extra nice, I think we should follow him."_

Bickslow looked down at the bedcovers thoughtfully. Wren was … unusual, even by his standards. He knew she was much smarter than any other kid her age, she had an underlying color of wisdom he'd only ever seen in some adults. Also, she knew things he didn't, he could see it in her eyes when she watched people. She saw things that even his eyes couldn't see, or at least, couldn't understand. She did not give an opinion lightly, and he had never seen her give her trust to anyone so quickly. Even Bickslow had had to work for her complete and total trust.

So if she gave it to the old man so freely, so eagerly, without any doubt … Bickslow looked over the bed and down at the old- at Makarov, and offered a tentative nod, "Okay … I'll give you a chance. We'll join your guild."

Makarov's face bloomed into a huge, toothy smile that almost screwed the man's eyes shut with its intensity, "Then welcome to Fairy Tail!"

* * *

 **Japanese translations: 1. "Sumimasen" = "Excuse me?"**

 **2\. "Sonna mendoi kodomo..." = "Such a troublesome child..."**

 **3\. "Wakarimasu ka?" = "Understood?"**

 **4\. "Imōto" = "Little Sister"**


	6. Chapter 5: Of Guild Marks and Greetings

**Yay! This story got two more reviews! (does the happy dance before settling down) ahem, anyway. Here is the next chapter and the introduction of several more canon characters. Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Review Response: Dear Apple of Eris, hello! Thank you! I'll do my best!**

 **Dear Wandering Mage011, hi! I wasn't really sure how else to describe what it's like to see with his eye magic and colors have more variety than other things I considered using. I can definitely see Wren visiting the Fairy Tail library a lot once she learns to read Japanese. There'd be no point going there at the moment because it would all be gibberish to her. Dabbling in different magics huh? (Lightbulb snaps on in head) I could work with that actually and you raise a very good point! I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chapter and I hope this one lives up to your expectations!**

 **Author's Note: Hmm, nothing really to say except I had a lot of fun with my first attempt at capturing the chaos of the Fairy Tail Guild. Bar fights have always been fun to write for me, but magical bar fights are even better. Oh, the three canon characters introduced in this chapter are Macao (again), Wakaba, and Cana.**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Five: Of Guild Marks and Greetings**

Porlyusica left a hour after Bickslow accepted Makarov's offer. She left behind several strict instructions on when Bickslow would be allowed to take missions and what things he should stay away from in order to avoid getting sick again. She also left behind a gruff, quiet apology that she could neither remove Bickslow's brand or fix Rihanna's voice.

Bickslow's brand was unremovable because had been made with some kind of magic dye Porlyusica was unfamiliar with and Rihanna's voice unsalvageable because of the thickness of the scar tissue running through her vocal folds. Porlyusica had gruffly told Rihanna that it was a miracle she was alive at all, even if the loss of her voice had been the necessary price to pay.

Bickslow had been angry, but Rihanna had just shrugged and pasted on a smile, trying to hide the disappointment she'd felt. It wasn't Porlyusica's fault after all and Rihanna supposed that even an eye-growing miracle worker like the cranky old healer had her limits.

However, several hours after Porlyusica had left, all of Rihanna's disappointment was forgotten. For one thing, she had finally been given the chance to scrub years worth of dirt and grime off of her skin and out of her hair, returning her curls to their proper honey golden hue. For another, their old rags had been disposed of and new clothes had been provided for them along with shoes for their previously bare feet. Rihanna was most pleased by that turn of events, especially with the practical, boyish clothing that she'd been given. A light blue T-shirt and tan cargo pants fit her personality much more than some kind of fluffy sundress after all.

But the best thing to happen, the thing that had driven away any last vestiges of disappointment over her mute status, was when Makarov had led them to his office and explained that they would need guild marks placed somewhere on their bodies so that the Fiore Magic Law Enforcement didn't mistake them for rogue mages. Bickslow had rebelled, but Rihanna had managed to quiet him by volunteering to go first in getting her mark.

Now, Rihanna stared down at the proud, iconic Fairy Tail mark on her left shoulder, trying and failing to fight down a grin at the sight of it. A pretty female mage in a hula skirt, who had introduced herself as Enno, smiled gently down at her, "There we go. You are now an official member of Fairy Tail." At those words, something giddy and hyper inside Rihanna begged for her to try squealing loudly despite the fact that she knew it was impossible.

Bickslow hovered by her side, fingers reaching out as if to brush the deep blue mark on her left shoulder, "Wren? You feelin' okay? It doesn't hurt you does it? It isn't doing anything to you is it?"

Rihanna shook her head and impulsively flung her arms around Bickslow in a hug, thoughts of the dangerous future far from her mind as her inner fangirl screamed, "I'm in Fairy Tail!" repeatedly. Pulling out of the hug, Rihanna beamed at Bickslow, silently trying to convey the sheer depths of her excitement and happiness.

Bickslow offered her a hesitant smile in return before turning to Makarov, "I guess that's a 'no'. Alright … where does mine go?"

Makarov, watching from where he was perched on his office desk, shrugged easily, "Anywhere you want, so long as it isn't inappropriate."

Bickslow scowled at the vagueness of the statement, staring down at his own skin uneasily as he contemplated. Rihanna felt her heart reach out to him yet again. After being branded by the people of Aternum, the thought of bearing another mark on his skin, willingly bearing one, had to be incredibly foreign and unnerving. Bickslow's contemplation stretched on and on until Rihanna wondered whether or not she should suggest something just to move things along.

However, just as she reached out to get Bickslow's attention, he looked up at Enno and stuck out his tongue, " 'Ere."

Enno blinked at him incredulously while Makarov just raised an eyebrow. Rihanna almost laughed at the look on Enno's face as she asked slowly, "Are you … sure? It won't come off unless you leave the guild, so you'll be stuck with it there."

Bickslow rolled his eyes and nodded firmly, sticking his tongue out farther, "Yeth, 'ow 'o i' alrea'y." Rihanna failed to bite back giggles at how ridiculous Bickslow sounded with his tongue stuck that far out, but if there was only one advantage to being mute, it was that people couldn't hear you laughing that them behind their backs while they did something silly.

Enno made a faint noise of doubt at Bickslow's choice, but reached for the magic stamp dyes anyway, "What color?"

Bickslow cocked his head to one side, an amusing sight considering his stuck out tongue, before lisping, " 'Ark 'lue."

Enno obediently reached for the dark blue dye pad, pressed the stamp firmly into the dye, then applied the magic mark to Bickslow's outstretched tongue. As soon as she finished pulling the stamp away, Bickslow retracted his tongue and smacked it against the roof of his mouth repeatedly, "Huh. I don't taste anything. My tongue just tingles a bit."

Makarov chuckled at that declaration, ignoring Enno's disapproving expression as she wiped the stamp clean of saliva and put it away, "That's because the dye is magic. No ink to taste, just a color imprint on the skin. Interesting choice of location, Bickslow, and welcome to your first day as an official Fairy Tail member."

Bickslow nodded slowly, "Yeah … thanks." Turning to Rihanna, he flashed his signature tongue grin, proudly displaying the Fairy Tail mark now on it, "Well? Wha' 'o 'hin'?"

In response to their master's eagerness, Pappa and Pippi chorused in time to their own enthusiastic bobbing, "What'd you think? What'd you think?" Rihanna slapped a hand over her own mouth to try to rein in her laughter at the sheer cuteness of little Bickslow and his first two babies proudly showing off his Fairy Tail mark. _Aw…_ Finally getting the giggles under control, she nodded vigorously and gave Bickslow two thumbs up of approval. It was a very odd position to choose in her opinion, but she knew that it suited Bickslow's nature and that he no doubt had a reason for such an unusual choice.

Bickslow's tongue grin widened before he retracted his tongue back into his mouth and looked expectantly at Makarov. Makarov jumped down from his desk with a faint grunt and motioned for them to follow Enno and him, "Very good. Now that all that official business is over with, come with me to the guild hall."

Bickslow exchanged a glance with Rihanna as they obediently trailed after Makarov and the light-footed Enno, "Guild hall? What's that?"

Enno answered, seeming to be filling the role of the absent Mirajane, "The guild hall is the main part of the building, it's where all of our mages gather together to pick missions, grab something to eat or drink, or just hang out and talk. Or fight. The boys of the guild seem to think smashing chairs over each others heads is fun, so watch out."

Bickslow tilted his head back at the news, seemingly unsure of how to respond to the last part. Rihanna on the other hand, was admiring the hallways of her favorite building in any anime ever and musing over the absent Mirajane. _Is Mirajane even a part of the guild yet? I know she joined young, but I don't know the exact year she joined. Come to think of it, I don't even know what year it is_ ** _now_** _. It isn't like I've got a calendar…_

Her attention turned further inward as she walked alongside Bickslow, partially tuning out Enno, who was rambling on about how a Fiore guild worked, Rihanna already knew most of the rules anyway. _I can't be anywhere near Lucy's arrival, Bickslow is only … eleven? Twelve? No, before she left, Porlyusica told us our ages, Bickslow's twelve and I'm six. Physically at least. Though how she knew our physical ages is a mystery to me. Must be one of those "crazy herbalist" secret techniques or something._

"Wren? Are you paying attention?" Rihanna looked up sheepishly at Enno's question, embarrassed to have been caught not listening. Rihanna shook her head minutely and bowed a bit at the waist in a silent apology. Enno smiled reassuringly at her, "I was telling you that children your age aren't allowed to take solo missions. You have to wait until you're at least eleven before you're allowed to take missions unaccompanied and even then, it's encouraged for you to have an older partner go with you. Do you understand?"

Rihanna nodded immediately. _Eleven-year-olds are allowed to wander the countryside unattended? What is up with this country? Although, an eleven-year-old strong enough in magic to join a guild could probably handle your common thug or pedophile… It still sounds reckless to me though._

They reached a final door after having climbed down two staircases and walked down three hallways, Enno opening the door and stepping aside to reveal the guild hall beyond. Bickslow, who had taken Rihanna's hand at some point, led her inside, keeping her close as they took in the sights that greeted them.

It was, in a word, amazing. Or mind-blowing, but Rihanna was fairly certain that was two words and not one. It was not as big as the second and most famous of the Fairy Tail guild halls, this was the one that had existed before the Phantom Lord arc, but it was still very impressive. The high, arching ceiling was supported by several key pillars, in between which were long wooden tables and benches all in slightly haphazard rows.

Mages mingled in between tables, nursing tankards or leaning over to call to someone at another table for an opinion or comment. To her left was the bar and its request board, the bar currently being manned by an adult male she didn't know from the anime. Just behind and to one side of the bar and request board were stairs leading up to the second level which she knew contained a special area for S-Class mages and S-Class requests.

Most of the members she could see were ranging from teen to young adult, with a few older members here and there but no child-age members other than herself and Bickslow that she could see. Makarov and Enno led them over to the bar where Makarov laboriously climbed up onto the bar itself, beckoning Bickslow and Rihanna to follow. After much scrambling, internal swearing, and eventually being picked up to help her on her way, Rihanna was standing on top of the bar alongside Bickslow and Makarov.

The bartender didn't even look up from cleaning beer tankards until Makarov cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the guild. At first, only a few members looked up at the sound, the rest not noticing in favor of a brewing scuffle on the far side of the hall. Makarov coughed louder than was polite, still trying to get everyone's attention without resorting to force. When that didn't work either and most attention remained on the now in-progress brawl across the room, Makarov's right eyelid twitched menacingly.

A huge fist rocketed past Rihanna, making her hiccup in surprise. It surged across the room, the tiny arm attached to the waist-sized fist stretching like elastic and successfully freaking her out before is sent the two original brawler's sprawling, "Oi! Pay attention you ungrateful scamps!"

The scuffle stopped and all eyes swung to Makarov obediently as his arm slowly retracted and his fist returned to normal size. Makarov eyed his now utterly silent guild balefully for a moment before his features relaxed and he shouted, "Everyone! These two are the siblings Bickslow," he motioned to the wide-eyed boy and his hovering dolls, "and Wren," Rihanna waved shyly, "they are now our newest members! Welcome them warmly and treat them well, yes?"

A loud chorus of agreement rose from all present and the bar was suddenly surrounded by curious mages. Two mages, who she belatedly recognized at Macao and Wakaba, managed to push their way to the fore. Macao looked Rihanna up and down thoughtfully before smiling, "You two are the kids Mest brought in, right? Nice to meet you properly at last. I'm Macao and this ugly idiot is Wakaba."

Wakaba scowled and nudged Macao with his shoulder, "Oi, look who's talking, Dateless!" Macao nudged him back and it looked as if the two supposedly mature adults would start a nudging war with each other when Mest pushed his way between them, a huge smile on his face, "Hey there, welcome to Fairy Tail! It's good to see you two up and about."

Bickslow, who was now glaring alternately at the table and the confusing mass of people who were neither afraid or scornful of him, shifted his gaze briefly to Mest, "Who're you?"

Mest blinked once, his smile never faltering as he answered easily, "I'm Mest, the mage who brought you two here." He shifted his gaze back to Rihanna, "So your name is Wren, huh? Pretty name." Rihanna dryly decided not to attempt contemplating on how she was now apparently stuck with the name "Wren" forever more. Instead, she pointed quietly at Bickslow and shrugged to indicate that it was his idea.

Bickslow was watching Mest with something akin to gratitude in his eyes, "Why'd you help us? How'd you even find us?"

Mest rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully, "Ah, well, Wren used her magic to steal my ramen and so I chased after her. I tracked her to the belfry and found her trying to wake you up and feed you so I put two and two together and, well, brought you here for medical treatment."

Bickslow started to bristle at the mention that Mest had chased Rihanna for any reason, but Rihanna patted his arm placatingly and he settled down again. Sitting cross-legged on the top of the bar, Bickslow found his attention dragged away from Mest by the questions of other eager guild members, namely the seeming unofficial spokesperson Macao, "So kids, what're your magics?"

Bickslow went very still, eyes widening in automatic fear while Pappa and Pippi squeaked wordlessly. Another guild member watched the two animate dolls as he answered Macao, "Isn't it obvious? He's using Seith Magic. Good at it too, if he's able to maintain two dolls at the same time while he's so young."

Macao nodded slowly, a slight frown on his face at being shown up by another member, "Alright. So what's yours, kiddo?" All eyes swung to Wren, who felt a moment of stage fright before brushing it off. _You've been performing in front of crowds since before you were twelve, you can do this._ Reaching out with a hand, Wren focused on the shadows cast by the bar and pulled on them. Velvet sensations slithered over her fingers and hand as she carefully coaxed a tendril of shadow into rising above the bar top. She twitched her fingers sideways, causing the shapeless tendril to wave in greeting.

Gasps, whistles, and even a clap or two of appreciation rose from the assembled Fairy Tail members, mutters of, "nice!" and "don't see that magic used too often…" floating to her ears. Wakaba raised an eyebrow at the demonstration as she released the shadow and it dropped back onto the floor, "Not bad. Not a very strong magic, but still."

Bickslow bristled and whirled on Wakaba, "My _imōto's_ magic is plenty strong! Just what is **your** oh-so-powerful magic, huh?"

Wakaba raised his hands placatingly, "Whoa, take it easy. I wasn't insulting your _imōto_ , I was just saying that Shadow Magic isn't the strongest of the magic types. It doesn't get used very often either."

Bickslow narrowed his eyes into a glare while Pappa and Pippi jeered at Wakaba. His next question came out as a defensive bark, "So what do you use?"

Macao interjected, slapping Wakaba on the back as he scoffed, "Like you've got any room to talk, Wakaba! You use Smoke Magic that can literally be blown away by a puff of wind!"

Wakaba actually pouted from around his pipe, "Hey now…"

Enno pushed her way into the conversation, making imperious shooing motions at everyone surrounding the bar, "Alright, alright, you've crowded the new members long enough. You'll overwhelm them at this rate. Be along with you now, all of you." Loud grumbles accompanied the subsequent dispersion of mages, Wakaba dragging an abruptly moon-eyed Macao away to a table while the latter sputtered something unintelligible in Enno's direction.

Rihanna rolled her eyes at Macao's actions, _good grief. How old is he? Twenty? He should be able to talk to a girl he likes by now without sputtering like a fifteen-year-old with a crush._ Bickslow gave a shy thanks to Enno, who simply smiled and moved to help the bartender serve new drinks. Makarov had miraculously disappeared during the first wave of inquisitive mages, so Rihanna felt no guilt in clambering down from the bar to have a look around. Bickslow followed her protectively, eyeing everyone in the guild with a mix of hope and caution that made her heart ache faintly.

" _A-ano_ …" Rihanna looked to her left sharply at the new, high-pitched voice. The speaker was a little girl of about eight, with wavy brown hair and big purple-brown eyes that blinked hopefully at Rihanna. The girl was wearing a flower-print sundress and slip on shoes that matched the dress's primary color. _Is that…?_ Rihanna cocked her head to one side inquisitively and the girl smiled as she stuck out a hand, " _Ano_ , I'm Cana. Cana Alberona. It's nice to … to meet you and finally have someone in the guild closer to my age. Would you … like to be friends?"

Rihanna stared at Cana, then stared a little more. She was trying to somehow reconcile the image of beer-swigging, bikini-top wearing, self-confident Cana with the adorably shy little girl standing before her. Cana shifted nervously, her expression starting to fall, "I-if you don't want to be friends, I understand…"

Bickslow nudged Rihanna's back firmly, snapping her out of her daze, as he said, "Wren's mute, you really wanna be friends with a mute girl?" Rihanna shot Bickslow a withering glare at his tone while Cana, and several other not-so-subtly eavesdropping guild members, gasped at his revelation.

Cana flicked her gaze from Rihanna to Bickslow and back before her gaze settled on Rihanna's throat scar. Her hands flew up to her mouth in horror, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

Bickslow was glaring at Cana, ignoring Rihanna's attempts to make him stop as he snarled suspiciously, "So now you **don't** wanna be friends with my sister just 'cause she's mute?"

Cana shook her head, "No, no! I mean- I do want to be her friend still! I just- I had no idea she couldn't-! I'm so sorry!" She ended her babble with a low bow at the waist, causing her ponytail to flop over her face.

Bickslow crossed his arms, "My sister doesn't need to be your- **ite-e**!" Rihanna slowly retracted her foot from its place on Bickslow's big toe, shooting him a look that promised far worse pain if he didn't shut up and butt out. Reaching out, Rihanna lightly tapped Cana's bowed head to get her attention. The girl straightened up automatically, her expression wobbling between hope and anxiety while her hand idly touched her hair where Rihanna had patted her.

Pointedly ignoring Bickslow's mumbled whines and protests at the toe-stomping treatment, Rihanna reached out a hand for Cana to shake, mouthing a silent " _dōzo yoroshiku_ " as she did so. Cana blinked at her a few times before a smile blossomed across her face and she accepted Rihanna's hand and shook it eagerly, " _Arigatō_ , Wren! _Yoroshiku onegaishimasu_!" Rihanna just continued to smile back as she nodded agreeably, a more than tiny part of her squealing happily at being befriended by one of her favorite Fairy Tail female characters.

Releasing Rihanna's hand, Cana bounced a bit on her toes, "Do you want to play?" Rihanna considered that for a moment, also listening to Bickslow's vaguely overprotective grumbles for a few seconds before nodding, _why not?_

If anything, Cana's smile somehow grew bigger as she fearlessly took one of Rihanna's hands and led her toward an unoccupied table, all shyness gone, "Wonderful! Do you know Go Fish? Or Old Maid?"

Rihanna gave a silent giggle at the thought of child Cana playing card games with the cards she would later weaponize to great effect as an adult. She waited until Cana had sat them both down, one on either side of the table, and looked up at her again before responding. Holding up one finger, Rihanna nodded. Holding up two fingers, she shook her head.

To her credit, Cana gave her silent reply serious thought before tentatively offering a translation, "You … know one of them but not both?" Rihanna nodded patiently and then repeated her previous motions, trying to tell Cana that she knew Go Fish, but not Old Maid. Well, more like she could no longer remember the rules to Old Maid while she still retained a working knowledge of Go Fish.

Cana frowned, apparently not understanding what she meant this time, "Uh…" Rihanna heaved a mental sigh and resorted to a much less dignified charade. Holding her hands to her jawline, she mimed a fish breathing. From his position next to her, Bickslow huffed a laugh at her action, prompting a glare from the physically younger girl. Seeing the glare, Bickslow rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Since when do you know Go Fish, _imōto_? That's a little kids game anyway."

Rihanna deadpanned at him before pointedly staring at where he was sitting, then back at his face before raising an eyebrow. _One, I learned when I was a kid living in Chicago. Two, I am physically a "little kid". Three, so are you! Besides that, what are you doing here? I thought you were pouting?_ Bickslow cocked his head, a faint frown on his face as he worked on deciphering her expressions. He had gotten very good at translating her facial and bodily cues, but sarcastic comments and other less blatant statements still took him some time to work out.

Cana interrupted his thoughts, her shoulders tense as she pulled out a pack of cards from her tiny yellow purse, "What's that got to do with anything? You're a kid too!" Her face suddenly took on a slightly devious air that gave Rihanna very strong deja vu, _uh oh, the infamous Cana cunning emerges … and at such a young age too._ Tossing her head slightly, Cana waved the pack of cards in Bickslow's general direction, "You're probably just sore that you aren't any good at it."

Bickslow bristled, "I'm plenty good at it! I'm way better than **you** are!"

Pappa and Pippi bounced bit in the air as they chanted, "Better than you! Better than you!"

Cana pursed her lips, eyes narrowing in a way that, when on the face of a woman and not a child, would have sent anyone with half a brain running, "Oh? Then how about you prove it?"

Bickslow's expression of smug superiority faltered and Rihanna failed to suppress a sigh as she rested her chin on her left hand to watch. She had never seen Bickslow give any indication of knowing how to play Go Fish in all the years she'd known him. Though that could have been because of their impoverished situation at the time, from the look on his face now, Rihanna highly doubted he even knew the first rule about Go Fish.

Her suspicion gained more weight when Bickslow snorted explosively and looked away, tugging at the brand new clothes Makarov had given him, "Don't wanna."

Cana's devious look deepened and she honed in on Bickslow in a manner reminiscent of a shark that had scented blood, "Come on, play against Wren and me. If you win, I'll give you a prize…"

Bickslow shot her a glance, curiosity peeked and Rihanna half hid her face in her palm at the utterly cliché child drama playing out in front of her. _I thought Bickslow was too old for this kind of thing. Guess not._ Bickslow crossed his arms over his chest, "…What kind of prize?"

Cana chewed her bottom lip before reaching into her little purse again and pulling out a handful of wrapped chocolate candies. Instantly, the Card Mage had both Bickslow's and Rihanna's undivided attention. Rihanna felt her mouth water just a little at the inconspicuous chocolate candies. She'd always had a bit of a sweet tooth, especially for chocolate. However, since she and Bickslow had barely managed to steal enough actual food to sustain themselves some days, she had not had any kind of sweet for a little over three years.

Cana smirked a bit at their attention, "You win and I'll give you these. They're Magnolia's speciality chocolates, made locally and only available in one candy store in all of Fiore. They're really good. I had to spend almost my entire allowance just to get these. So … what do you say?"

 _Chocolate. Real, actual, chocolate … want!_ Rihanna hastily debated the pros and cons of temporarily abandoning her maturity and suckering Bickslow into a game for the chocolates. She was fairly certain that if she got Bickslow to join and he really didn't know how to play Go Fish, Cana would consent to giving the chocolate to whoever won anyway and Rihanna figured that as an adult, she had a good chance of winning. Right?

On the other hand, she would inevitably be caught up in the childish … whatever-it-was currently going on between Cana and Bickslow. If she got caught up in it, she would no doubt be eventually dragged down to their maturity level and be given either a headache, a humiliation, or both.

But on the first hand … **chocolate**.

Making up her mind, Rihanna leaned over and tugged on Bickslow's sleeve frantically. The moment his eyes swung to lock with her's, she turned on her puppy eyes, looking at him with all of the pleading and adorable "little sister" vibes she could possibly scrape together. Bickslow swallowed hard, trying to pull his gaze away from Rihanna's but seemingly unable to. Slowly, Rihanna lifted her chin off of her hand and moved to clasp both hands just underneath her jaw pleadingly, trying to somehow beam the desire for chocolate into his head.

Finally, Bickslow huffed and turned to face Cana, "Fine. Set it up, and no skimping on the cards." Both girls beamed at him and Rihanna thought she heard a few "aw"s drift faintly through the guild. Cana divided the cards, which Rihanna was surprised to note were poker cards and not tarot, and expertly passed them among the three players.

Setting the rest of the cards in the center of the table, Cana cheerfully cried, "Alright! Let's 'Go Fish'!"

An hour or so later, Rihanna was happily rolling a chocolate on her tongue, savoring the dark, slowly melting sweet as much as possible while Bickslow and Cana had a loud, vibrant shouting match complete with waving arms and squeaking animate dolls.

Just as she had suspected, Bickslow had absolutely no clue how to play Go Fish and had thus lost the first game miserably. Angrily, he had demanded they play for best two out of three, to which Cana had confidently agreed. However, it was during the last two games that the tides had drastically turned. Because while Bickslow had no prior experience with the game Go Fish, he was a master of the most important skill a street orphan could learn next to stealing.

Namely, how to cheat like crazy and get away with it scot-free.

His endeavors at cheating, though Rihanna still wasn't sure how one cheated at Go Fish, had probably been helped immensely by the fact that he had two little tiki dolls with the ability to lazily drift past Cana's shoulder before drifting coincidentally past Bickslow's ear. Cana had caught on only after the end of the third game and only because Bickslow had seemingly gone from not knowing an eight of hearts from a six of diamonds to being a flawless winner. But, by the time she'd started making her accusations, Bickslow had cheerfully handed off all of the precious chocolates to Rihanna.

Rihanna idly rolled one of said chocolates on her tongue, the others nestled safely in the pockets of her new cargo pants. Was she willingly eating property which had technically been stolen? Yes. Did she feel any remorse whatsoever? No. Not at all.

Pippi suddenly got overactive and zipped forward to bounce off of Cana's head. Cana held the accosted spot, yelping loudly with pain, and Rihanna tensed, wondering if Bickslow had gone too far and was going to make Cana cry. But then Cana proved why she fit in so well with Natsu's generation of Fairy Tail by whipping her tarot deck out of her purse and starting to chase Bickslow around with a handful of magically charged cards.

Rihanna watched from her safe corner as Bickslow, in his hasty attempts to escape, scrambled over someone else's table, spilling beer and food everywhere. One of Cana's cards, a fire card apparently, missed Bickslow and landed on the spilled turkey, setting it cheerily aflame.

Leaping off of the table, Bickslow darted around a startled Wakaba's legs, screeching for Pappa to hit Cana as he did so. Pappa shot forward at Cana, who ducked at the last second so that Pappa went hurtling over her head and smacked between the unsuspecting legs of another male guild member, who promptly doubled over in agony, accidentally head-butting the person he'd been arguing with a moment before.

Unaware, or just not caring, of why he'd been so suddenly head-butted, the second man slugged the doubled-over first, who fell backwards onto the floor and tripped Enno, who then spilled her tray of beer so that the tankards somehow went flying an impressive distance of about twenty feet before spilling all of their contents.

Right on the flaming turkey Macao had been trying to put out.

It exploded brilliantly. Almost as brilliantly as Macao's vocabulary of unrepeatable words and phrases.

Rihanna blinked a few times as the guild dissolved into chaos all around her. Macao was jumping up and down, trying to put out the tiny fire on his left pant leg, Enno was shrieking for a fire-extinguisher, and the seeming only Water Mage present in the guild was being dragged into a brawl before he could finish his water spell and put out the merrily burning fire in the middle of the room.

Movement out of the corner of her eye dragged Rihanna's attention away from the fire and havoc in the main part of the hall to where Bickslow and Cana stood on a far table, watching the results of their accidents with identical looks of fascinated horror.

She watched as they looked from the fire and brawl to each other. Bickslow suddenly grinned and said something that had Cana chasing him anew … which then led to a lightning card temporarily paralyzing Makarov, the buff bartender crying over shattered bottles of vintage wine, and Bickslow accidentally figuring out that Pappa and Pippi could shoot lasers. The last of these events promptly led to the existence of three more fires and an impressive gouge mark in one of the walls.

Two hours after that, the fires had been put out, everyone had been lectured sternly over exercising restraint with their magic while in the guild building, and the bartender had been comforted with promises of replacement vintage wine. Rihanna wordlessly passed Cana and Bickslow a chocolate each, listening to Cana alternately chatter at her or get into a sniping war with Bickslow who was sitting on Rihanna's other side.

Rihanna had the sudden, unshakeable feeling that she had just witnessed the start of a relationship that would either be absolutely awesome, or earthshakingly horrible.

It would probably depend on who she asked.

* * *

 **Japanese Translations: "Imōto" = "Little sister"**

 **"Ano" = I'm not sure on the exact definition actually, but it appears to be a way of attracting attention or stating hesitancy. Similar to "um" or "ahem".**

 **"Dōzo Yorushiku" = "Nice to meet you"**

 **"Yorushiku onegaishimasu" = More formal version of "Nice to meet you", similar to "Honor to make your acquaintance"**


	7. Chapter 6: First Mission

**Hello all! Here is the next chapter! Hope it pleases!**

 **Review Response: Dear Dutchess-of-Dirt, hello there! Glad you enjoyed it! Writing the quirky violent-prone antics of the guild was fun, I'm glad it made you laugh!**

 **Dear Wandering Mage011, hi! Don't they always with Fairy Tail? Like that time in the anime when it started with Natsu yelling insults at Gajeel and ended with Erza attacking everyone with her swords because of her ruined strawberry cake. I was always a bit** **disappointed that we never got to see more examples of Shadow Magic after Kageyama's appearance. Like you said, it has enormous potential. As for Bickslow's and Wren's acrobatic capabilities, we'll be seeing more of it as time goes on. Bickslow is naturally flexible and Wren's past on Earth facilitates a similar capability. Plus, acrobatics are surprisingly useful for stealth maneuvers. Thank you, I'm glad you liked the chapter. As for more brother/sister fluff, it's bound to turn up again, they spend a lot of time together after all. I find it funny though that Bickslow really does fit the little brother role so well when everyone else in the Guild would think of him as the big brother because he's physically older than Wren. Oh well.**

 **Dear Apple Of Eris, greetings! Fairy Tail will be Fairy Tail, and if at all possible, that will entail hilarity, awesomeness, or property damage. Or all three. Hope you enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Author's Note: Huh ... not much to say, honestly. This chapter doesn't have much in the way of things needing explanations. Kudos to anyone who spots the Naruto reference hidden in this chapter though!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Six: First Mission**

Bickslow stared up at the request board, trying to figure out which job he should take. It would be his first experience having a job after all, he wanted it to be a good one. A mission to fight some kind of monster caught his eye, but he quickly dismissed it when he remembered Wren standing patiently next to him, waiting for him to pick a mission for the two of them.

Wren, sensing his gaze, looked away from the request board to meet his eyes, raising an eyebrow questioningly and motioning to the board in a "well? Aren't you going to pick something?" kind of way. Bickslow shrugged helplessly, "I don't know what to pick."

Wren frowned slightly and returned her gaze to the request board, standing on her toes to get a better look at the requests higher up on the board. Finally, she pointed at one and raised her eyebrow at Bickslow questioningly. Bickslow shifted closer to the board to look at the poster she had pointed to and snorted, "Finding someone's runaway cat? Really, _imōto_? Boring." _Who names a house cat "Tora" anyway? That's just asking for it to go wild._ Biting his lip faintly, Bickslow ran his eyes over the requests again, trying to find one that didn't sound too boring, but also didn't sound too dangerous for Wren either.

Doubt was beginning to creep up on Bickslow on whether there was any job that met his narrow criteria and whether they'd get in trouble if they didn't take a job as soon as possible when his dolls chattered faintly, alerting him to someone approaching from behind, "Trying to pick a first job?"

Bickslow glanced over his shoulder at Mest, not sure if he was relieved or angry at the mage's appearance. On one hand, he didn't trust Mest and didn't trust how friendly he acted. On the other hand, Mest was the reason they were out of Aternum and off the streets now. Plus, Wren seemed to like him. Grudgingly, Bickslow withheld a scathing demand for the older mage to leave them alone and grunted instead, "Yeah. Maybe."

Wren blinked at Bickslow once before turning to Mest and lightly tugging on his sleeve. Mest looked down at Wren immediately, "Yes, Wren-chan?"

Wren made a sweeping gesture at the request board and then shrugged, head cocking questioningly. Mest smiled at her warmly and Bickslow fought down a flash of an ugly and unfamiliar emotion. He wasn't sure why, but he really, really didn't like how everyone in the guild seemed to be going out of their way to befriend his little sister. He also didn't like it that Wren seemed perfectly happy to put up with their presences. Especially the annoying card-girl Cana and the currently present Mest.

He told himself that it was because he didn't trust anyone in the guild yet, and possibly never would, and that was partially the reason. But that didn't feel like all of the reason and that confused Bickslow. Seemingly ignorant of the moody looks Bickslow was shooting him, Mest idly placed a hand lightly on Wren's head as he examined the request board, "You want a suggestion on which one to pick, huh? Hmmm…" After several moments of contemplation and Bickslow toying with the increasingly appealing idea of having Pappa zap Mest's hand to get it off of Wren's head, Mest reached out and pulled down a poster from the request board, "How about this one?"

He passed it down to Bickslow, who scowled at it as he slowly deciphered the kanji and english mix on the cheerfully illustrated poster. Wren huddled closer by his side to get a better look at the poster as Bickslow glanced incredulously up at Mest, "Helping out at a restaurant? Really? How's that a job for a mage?"

Mest shrugged, "It's a good job for your first time. The owner is a retired Fairy Tail member. He lets young mages try to use their magic to complete everyday tasks and, if their magic can't be used that way, he still pays very well for simple, honest work. He's friendly, fairly easygoing, and doesn't mind Fairy Tail's more … destructive habits. Plus, he'll probably have the cooks make you a free lunch if you're around when it's the lunch hour."

Bickslow pursed his lips and glared thoughtfully down at the poster, insides squirming at the thought of meeting yet another stranger who would no doubt stare at his facial tattoo. Or worse, know what it meant and curse him for it. But on the other hand, the reward was thirty-thousand jewels. That was more jewels than Bickslow had ever even seen all at once, let alone ever held. Also, despite his private suspicions about Mest, the teen didn't seem to be out to get them and if he seemed so certain that the owner would be nice to them…

He looked down at Wren and raised both eyebrows in a questioning gesture. Wren examined the poster again, her expression utterly serious. Finally, she nodded and tapped the poster approvingly, making the paper bob and rustle under her touch. Bickslow worried his lip a little bit more, his dolls sensing his worry and flittering around just a touch faster than normal before settling down. He nodded as well and covered his unease with a wide tongue-grin down at Wren, "Yoshi! Let's do this, _imōto_!"

Mest made his presence known again by chuckling and patting Bickslow lightly on the shoulder, apparently oblivious to Bickslow's automatic flinch as he spoke blithely, "Alright then, if you've decided on a job, just go up and tell Ricard, he manages the request board and keeps a record of who is currently out on missions or not. I'd come with you, but I don't want to take any of your reward. Besides, helping out at a restaurant is a little below my capabilities now, Aengus-san would think I'm trying to freeload off of his cooks again."

Bickslow hummed neutrally, not sure what to say about that or the beaming smile Wren graced Mest with before leading the way to the bar where Ricard the bartender was currently serving tankards to the annoying duo Macao and Wakaba. The two looked up from their tankards as Bickslow and Wren approached, Macao spotting the poster in Bickslow's hand and flashing that strange smile everyone was always giving his sister and him, "Off to take your first job, hmm? You sure Porlyusica won't get mad about it?"

Bickslow didn't really see how the cranky old healer would know about his taking a mission when she wasn't even there, but decided it was a moot point as he shook his head and replied stubbornly, "It's been four days. I'm fine." Wakaba scoffed something about the recuperative powers of the young but Bickslow ignored him in favor of waving the poster at Ricard, "Oi, we're going out on this job. That a problem?"

Ricard leaned over the bar to get a proper look at which poster Bickslow was holding, then nodded easily and straightened up, "That's fine. Good luck on your first job, kids!" Ricard flashed that strange smile at them and turned back to Wakaba and Macao, getting into some kind of friendly debate about something while Bickslow and Wren made their way to the guild entrance. Bickslow shifted a bit uncomfortably as more and more semi-strangers called out well wishes and encouragements to them as they passed.

He didn't understand how they could all be so … friendly to him. He had a brand on his face that should have inspired fear and disgust wherever he went and, up until four days ago, it always had. But now he was surrounded by adults that didn't scorn or hit, was fed absolutely huge amounts of food whenever he was hungry, and was smiled at for no apparent reason. Bickslow was tempted to think that all of the people in the Fairy Tail guild were trying to trick him into lowering his guard.

That or they were all crazy. Which might be more likely when he considered their honest colors with his eye magic and witnessed the spontaneous brawls that happened at least once a day.

Still, crazy or not, the sheer boundlessness of their cheer and the open friendliness they displayed threw Bickslow off and made him feel wary and defensive. Wren seemed to handle it much better despite being younger than him, but that might have been because she hadn't been on the streets for as long as him and probably didn't even remember how she had become mute anymore.

Sunlight hit his face and a spring breeze ruffled his hair, drawing him out of his thoughts and to the busy, open streets of a foreign city. Bickslow stopped in the entrance of the Fairy Tail building, trying to get his bearings in the beautiful yet unknown city of Magnolia. Magnolia wasn't built like Aternum. While Aternum was comprised of crowded, winding streets and crooked buildings leaning over the head of passing pedestrians, Magnolia was spacious, neat, and orderly.

The cobblestone streets were broad, easily double that of a normal Aternum street, and the buildings were spaced in planned, straight rows with walls that didn't lean or loom over the street. People walked to and fro, calling hellos or pausing to exchange gossip in the street without inconveniencing anyone else. Here and there in little stretches of raised dirt, trees rustled their leaves in the breeze and gave shade to passersby.

Bickslow took a slow, bracing breath and stepped out onto the road, "Right, let's go and…" his voice trailed off for a moment as he looked up and down the unfamiliar street. It occurred to him suddenly that he had never actually been anywhere in Magnolia aside from the Fairy Tail guild building. At least, not while conscious. Thus, he had absolutely no clue on where to go. _I can't turn around and go back in … they'll laugh or call me stupid or something. But … I don't know where to go._

Sensing Wren watching him curiously, Bickslow straightened his shoulders and picked a direction at random, hoping that heading down the road to his right would eventually lead him to where he wanted to go.

It didn't.

* * *

Rihanna sighed as she sat down on a nearby bench conveniently placed near the street under a shady tree. Of course Bickslow had gotten them lost. Why hadn't it occurred to her that he would have no idea where to go? Probably because she'd assumed that somewhere in amid the unintelligible kanji scrawled on the poster were instructions on how to actually **get** to the restaurant they were supposed to help at.

Sitting down next to her with a distinctly sheepish look, Bickslow mumbled, " _Gomen_ , _imōto_. I didn't mean to get us lost." _Of course you didn't. You're only twelve. I should have thought this through beforehand._

Rihanna idly patted Bickslow's arm to comfort him as she pondered over what to do now. She had no real idea on how to get back to the guild building, and was reluctant to return without having even found the location of the job Bickslow had picked. Rihanna tried to apply logic to the problem. She assumed from the picture of rows of tables and the big words "help wanted" in english that the job was to help out at a café or restaurant or some kind. Plus, Mest had advised it and mentioned free food. Therefore, the place was probably in or near Magnolia's Market District.

 _Which would be an enormously helpful piece of knowledge if I had any idea_ ** _where_** _the Market District was in relation to our current location._ Rihanna noticed that Bickslow was making distressed grunts at the poster and his babies were beginning to do loop-de-loops and sighed again. _Oh forget it, we'll do this the old fashioned way and forget paranoia for a second._

Reaching out, Rihanna snatched the poster from Bickslow's lax grip and hopped off of the bench with Bickslow's surprised yelp in her ears, "Wren? What are you-?" Picking a woman who had a child Bickslow's age with her, Rihanna marched up to them and got their attention with a wave of her hand.

The woman and child stopped, blinking at Rihanna in surprise and then at Bickslow when he came running frantically up behind Rihanna, Pappa and Pippi squeaking " _nani-nani_?" rather hysterically. Ignoring Bickslow, Pappa and Pippi, and the young boy gaping at the floating toys, Rihanna unrolled the slightly crumpled poster and held it up for the woman's inspection, tapping the picture with a finger and then shrugging at her surroundings to indicate that Rihanna had no idea where to go.

The woman frowned, "I'm not sure I understand…" Rihanna rolled her eyes, _oh how I miss my underrated ability to speak._ Rihanna summoned up her patience and gestured to the picture and then her surroundings again.

The woman continued to look baffled for another few seconds before understanding dawned, "Oh! Of course! You must be new to Magnolia! You're looking for the restaurant that posted this job, correct?" Rihanna nodded, happy to be getting somewhere. The woman smiled down at her a bit, "Let's see, The Secret Ingredient is … that way." She pointed down a street at the nearby intersection, "Just go down that street for four blocks, then turn left. Cross the bridge, turn right and keep going until you reach the Restaurant District. The Secret Ingredient is the one with a patio that overlooks the canals, so as long as you stay on the main roads, you can't miss it." Rihanna nodded again and bowed low in thanks before dragging Bickslow away from his glaring contest with the other boy and toward their destination at last.

Once they were away from the woman and the boy, Bickslow hissed, "Why'd you do that, Wren? They could have tried to hurt you."

Rihanna gave Bickslow a sad look at his words and the reasons she knew were behind them. _Oh Bickslow. If only I could tell you that there are so many people in the world that are kinder than Aternum's were. If only I could tell you how to trust strangers just a little bit and not expect them to curse you and drive you off._ But, unfortunately, she didn't have a voice and even if she did, Rihanna doubted that words could undo the damage Aternum had done to Bickslow emotionally.

Unable to express any of those thoughts, Rihanna simply took Bickslow's hand and squeezed it gently before giving in to her inner child and skipping down the street toward her first job as a mage. Bickslow walked next to her, a puzzled expression on his face as he watched her skip, his eyes flickering briefly to green before he looked away and studied their surroundings instead. Idly, Rihanna wondered what Bickslow saw whenever he glanced at her with his dōjutsu. It seemed to be his way of judging things that were not obvious to the naked eye, but what exactly he was judging or looking for during those times, she still didn't know.

The distance to their destination steadily grew shorter as Rihanna admired her surroundings for the hundredth time that day, her good mood mostly restored. Magnolia was truly a beautiful place, absolutely nothing like Chicago or even Aternum. While Aternum was architecturally similar to Magnolia, Magnolia had a much more open and cheerful air to it. Though perhaps Rihanna only thought that because she hadn't had to live three years of constant running, sneaking, and stealing in the pretty Fiorean city.

Some people smiled at the two as they went by, others who spotted Pappa and Pippi floating by Bickslow's shoulders chuckled knowingly and commented on how Fairy Tail seemed to be growing every day. One woman shook her head before commenting to an older woman just on the edge of Rihanna's hearing, "Honestly, sometimes I think that place takes in more kids than the orphanage."

The older woman chuckled and waved a hand to dismiss the first woman's statement, "Now, now, there's nothing wrong with our guild getting a unique collection of members. It's what makes the guild so renowned." Rihanna shook her head at the overheard conversation, even though she couldn't help but agree with both of the women. If the anime, and her own current circumstances, were to be believed, Fairy Tail really did have a tendency to take in strays that then grew up powerful and loyal to the guild that had given them a home and family.

 _That would actually be a really scary thought if the guild in question wasn't so freedom-loving. If a bad guy figured out how to do that … I don't even want to think about it._ Bickslow's voice interrupted Rihanna's thoughts, "Hey, isn't that the place we're supposed to go to?" Rihanna looked up in surprise to see a restaurant with a patio and a sign that had the name The Secret Ingredient proudly displayed on it. _Have we really been walking long enough to find it? Though I suppose I shouldn't think that after how long we were lost._

Rihanna passed the poster back to Bickslow so that he could double-check for himself. After giving the poster a long, scrutinizing look, Bickslow nodded to himself, "Yeah … this is the place." He looked at the front door as they came closer and closer to the building with reluctance, "So I guess we just … head in?"

Rihanna shrugged, she had no more idea how magic jobs worked than he did. _Pity life doesn't come with tutorials. Even ones in an anime world._ Still, she supposed that all they had to do was go in, find the owner of the restaurant, and show him the poster. That would explain everything, right? After exchanging one last uneasy look, the two entered the restaurant called The Secret Ingredient. _It's just helping out at a restaurant, what could possibly happen?_

Rihanna scurried from table to table as fast as her legs could carry her, a headache slowly developing behind her eyes as she used her Shadow Magic to form a tray on which to carry orders. _I really need to break the habit of thinking that before it comes back to seriously bite me in the butt, don't I? Easy job my right leg!_

In hindsight, Rihanna really should have known better than to think it would be easy or boring. Mest had said that Aengus-san was "friendly and easygoing" but he had also said that Aengus-san was a former Fairy Tail member. When you placed those three descriptors in the same sentence about the same person, they came to mean something very different from the layman's version of "friendly and easygoing".

Aengus was cheerful in a booming way that made her ears hurt, with a smile a mile wide and a welcome-to-Fairy-Tail hug that could have winded a bear. He also, somehow, appeared to be the Earthland version of a Scot, complete with a kilt and brogue accent. Though how he managed a brogue accent while speaking Japanese was beyond Rihanna.

Also, after welcoming the two new mages with a bone-crushing hug and booming laugh, he had quickly proven to have no idea that two children did not have needed the endurance levels to reach his high standard of hard work. He had wanted them to do several ridiculous tasks that made Rihanna cringe at the thought of before his much more sensible restaurant manager had stepped in and taken over giving them jobs to do.

Bickslow and Rihanna had promptly been set to serving tables and taking orders as several of Aengus's waiters had called in sick a few days ago. This proved to be a problem when it was rapidly revealed that Bickslow was the only one of the two who could read or write kanji while Rihanna was the only one who had the temperament to ask nicely what they wanted, which was hard to do anyway given her mute status. After the seventh instance of Bickslow insulting the intelligence of a customer and threatening to hit someone for cooing at Rihanna, Bickslow had been banished to helping in the kitchen with the aid of his tiki dolls while Rihanna had been granted the "honor" of being the adorable assistant to one of the regular waitresses, a girl named Mimi.

At the moment, she was following Mimi to deliver a hefty order of food and drinks to a group of travelers who had come in just at the height of lunch hour and managed to snag a booth. Mimi was carrying a tray with several plates of food on it while Rihanna followed behind with the remaining two plates and the assorted drinks. She would have used a regular tray, except Aengus had made it very clear that they were only going to get paid if they used their magic as much as possible to complete the job, something about teaching the younger generation of mages how to be creative with their abilities.

At least she'd learned a new skill and was getting better at maintaining the duration of her Shadow Magic. Mimi blithely interrupted her musings when the two arrived at the table and the pretty young waitress chirped, "Thank you for waiting, here are your orders!" Mimi started dishing out the orders as she rattled off what went to whom, "Now, the daily special for Haibara-sama, Kavanagh-sama, and Fujimoto-sama. Grilled fish for Hisakawa-sama, onigiri for Ito-sama…"

Mimi tucked her now empty tray under her arm and turned to Rihanna, "Can you remember the other orders, Wren-chan?"

Rihanna inched closer to the table and coaxed her shadow tray to hover higher, eliciting gasps of awe and amazement as she inched the tray upward until it was just above the lip of the table. Rihanna bit her lip in intense concentration, she had to make sure the tray remained flat and with the same density throughout its surface or risk spilling everything.

She shot a hooded look at Mimi for just standing there smiling expectantly before slowly inching her hands out from under the shadow tray, forcing several shadows from the booth table to uncoil and form a little stand for her tray while she used her hands to pick up the plate nearest her on the tray.

It was an onigiri platter. Rihanna cast her mind back to the order, attempting to remember who had ordered what. Her headache grew a little worse from the multitasking and her adult pride was stung at the chorus of awes her struggles to reach far enough across the table to hand a grinning Boyle-san his order elicited. _Curse my child height! Just … a little … farther!_ Rihanna didn't dare stand on her tiptoes as she feared the attention division between her hands and the shadow tray would become too uneven and cancel her spell. Thankfully, Boyle-san finally took pity upon her plight and reached out to take the plate from her hands.

Rihanna sighed with relief before turning a weary eye to the plates left on the tray. _Now I have to do it again. Lovely. This kind of job was so much easier when I was twenty … and could speak … and write in a language everyone else could understand … and wasn't so darn short. At least the others are closer._

Mimi cheered Rihanna on as she passed out the other plates, gratified that the last two customers were nice enough to take the plate from her once it was within easy reach for them. After that, she served the drinks, once again requiring aid in passing out the ones that belonged to people on the far edge of the long booth. Only once that was finally done did she let her shadow tray temporarily dissolve to ease the strain on her mind.

As Rihanna followed Mimi to check on the other tables and then back to the kitchens, she mused to herself with a slight pout. _I don't remember being so short at this age … then again, I don't really remember being six all that well. Am I short for my physical age? That would be just my luck wouldn't it? To get a stunted growth the second time around because of living on the streets for three years._

It didn't help her self-esteem much that people kept calling her " _kawaii_ " whenever she was spotted helping out Mimi. True, the people saying it meant well, but it was more than a little degrading for someone who remembered being a woman to be squealed over like some kind of fluffy kitten.

A muffled boom from the depths of the kitchen just as they were entering, accompanied by a large cloud of smoke, shook her out of her thoughts, _what the-?_ Several voices, presumably the cooks, cursed loudly and the unmistakable hiss of a fire-extinguisher rose in the air while Mimi frantically waved the smoke away and Rihanna coughed silently. The smoke cleared rapidly, indicating that its source had already gone out, and Rihanna peeked cautiously into the depths of the kitchen to see a sooty Bickslow blinking sheepishly at the exasperated head cook. Pappa and Pippi hovered near one of the large grills, Pappa looking particularly sooty and spinning in little dizzy loops while Pippi chanted softly, "Oops-a-daisy, oops-a-daisy…"

Rihanna stared first at the foam-coated grill, then at the sooty Bickslow and his tiki dolls, and promptly reintroduced her palm to her face. _Someone tell me that what I think happened, didn't actually happen._ The head cook shook his head exasperatedly at Bickslow as he stowed away the fire extinguisher and signaled another cook to start cleaning up the mess, "I said 'turn the heat up' as in 'use the dial on the grill'. Not 'shoot the coals with lasers from your tikis'. Honestly … what is it with Fairy Tail kids and explosions?" _It did._

Bickslow swallowed and hunched his shoulders in expectation for a violent reprisal, "Sorry! I-I didn't think it would blow up like that!"

The head cook didn't even look angry at the sudden non-functionality of one of the grills during lunch hour, just oddly resigned, "It's fine. I know you didn't mean any harm. This kind of thing happens every time the boss sends a job request to Fairy Tail. At least you didn't accidentally teleport a booth full of guests into the middle of the canal like that other kid did a couple years ago…"

Rihanna sniggered silently, shoulders shaking with unheard mirth despite herself as she immediately realized who must have made **that** mistake. _I wonder how Mest managed to do that? It doesn't seem like something one could do by accident. Then again, teleportation is probably very different from Shadow Magic._

Bickslow appeared both baffled and relieved that his mistake had earned nothing more than sighs and a gentle reprimand. Cautiously, he glanced from the bustling cooks to Rihanna, his expression unsure. Rihanna smiled and shrugged at him, hoping to convey that everything was fine and there was nothing he could do but keep working. Before she could think of anything else to do that might put Bickslow at ease, she was whisked away by Mimi to resume tending tables.

The next hour blurred by in a flurry of orders, deliveries of said orders, and an ever-present headache from using her magic so often. When the majority of the lunch rush had finally settled down or left, Rihanna heaved a deep sigh of relief, trying not to think on how poor Bickslow was managing in the hot kitchens surrounded by loud, semi-bossy adults.

A hand gently patted her head as Mimi said sympathetically, "Hard work isn't it? Especially for someone your age. Poor thing. You did a splendid job, Wren-chan. Truly splendid. Come on, I'm sure Aengus-san has already ordered the cooks to set something aside for your brother and you." Rihanna followed Mimi numbly, not even bothering to be insulted at being patted on the head like a puppy who had learned to fetch properly. The promise of sitting down and having food was just too wonderful.

Mimi led Rihanna to the breakroom, herding her to a chair next to the already seated Bickslow. Bickslow paused in slurping water from his glass to look Rihanna over critically, "You look exhausted, _imōto_ , are you okay?"

Rihanna nodded absently as she grabbed her own glass and started greedily drinking the cool water within, _I don't remember waitressing being so exhausting. Then again, I am physically six. Smaller body, smaller battery I-_ ** _food_** _!_ Mimi giggled at Rihanna's eager look as the waitress set the plate of onigiri down in front of her, "There you go, a little side reward for all of your hard work. When you're done, Aengus-san will want to see you, so make sure you two report to his office, alright? Good."

As Mimi walked away, Rihanna eagerly set about demolishing the food on her plate, her pace only outdone by Bickslow, who had already caused half of his plate to be magically clear of sustenance. By the time Rihanna was halfway through her own meal, Bickslow had already finished his and was staring thoughtfully at the doorway through which Mimi had disappeared, "Ne, Wren."

Wren looked up from tentatively nibbling on seaweed and, seeing that he had her attention, Bickslow continued, "The people here in Magnolia are really … different from Aternum, aren't they? First the Old Man and his guild and now these … strangers. None of them…" His hand idly reached up and fingered the brand on his face, "Their colors are so clean when they look at me. Like I'm just another kid and not…" _not a demon_ , the end of the sentence hovered tensely in the air between them.

Bickslow looked pensive while Rihanna took a moment to stare hard at her seaweed and rein in the urge to plot revenge on Aternum for everything its people had done to Bickslow and her over the years. _Being treated with courtesy and kindness should_ ** _not_** _be a foreign concept to a boy his age. Or ever. It just shouldn't._

Pushing her desire to harm something deep down until it no longer ran the risk of showing on her face or activating her dōjutsu by accident, Rihanna looked back up at Bickslow and whistled three quiet, ascending notes before making a broad motion with her hands to signify all of their surroundings. Bickslow blinked at her once, then smiled, "Yeah, everything around here is extra nice. Even the people … especially the people…"

Rihanna looked down at her nibbled seaweed again, sad to hear a young boy marveling over the concept of being treated with kindness. With a faint sigh, she abandoned the seaweed strand and ate the rice portion of one more rice ball before pushing the plate away and moving to stand. Bickslow frowned at her in concern, "Aren't you going to finish, Wren?"

Rihanna shook her head. She wasn't sure how Bickslow had miraculously avoided the effect, but three years of little food had limited her ability to eat a full meal. She could eat a good portion of a normal sized meal, but many times she found herself unable to finish it without risking a terrible stomach ache or vomiting.

Besides, the seaweed tasted very odd to her distinctly american taste buds. Her time on Aternum's streets had effectively killed her gag reflex and any picky habits she may have possessed, but that didn't mean she didn't have preferences of taste. Seaweed definitely fell into the "meh" section of those preferences and, coupled with her shrunken appetite and the previous conversation, killed her desire to attempt forcing the rest of the meal down her throat.

Still frowning worriedly, Bickslow got up as well, absently snatching her leftover onigiri and pocketing them for later as he followed her out of the breakroom. He sped up briefly so as to walk alongside her as they made their way through the restaurant to Aengus-san's office. Rihanna shot him a faint smile and idly linked her fingers with his, finding comfort in the touch just as much as Bickslow did.

Reaching Aengus-san's office, Rihanna barely managed to stop Bickslow from simply walking in. She shot him an exasperated look before pointedly knocking on the door to demonstrate what Bickslow should have done. Bickslow rolled his eyes at her, clearly not caring about the concept of manners anymore than a cat cared about whether or not it shed on the carpet. Their silent eye-based conversation was interrupted by a loud, boisterous voice calling from within the office, "Well? Don't stand out there all day! Come on inside already!"

Bickslow jumped slightly at the volume, eyes flickering green before they settled and he obediently opened the door and led the way inside. Aengus-san looked up from the surprisingly high pile of paperwork on his desk and beamed at them, "There ye are! I was beginnin' ta wonder when ye'd show up! How d'ye like working in a restaurant so far?"

Rihanna started to give a smile and a nod to convey appreciation for the job, no matter how it tired her six-year-old frame, when Bickslow spoke up petulantly, "It's loud, the kitchen is hot, the customers are wimps, and your chief cook is boss- _ite-e_!" Rihanna lifted her foot off of Bickslow's boot, glaring at him menacingly for being so rude. Bickslow glared right back at her, "I wasn't done talking yet, Wren. Sheesh." Looking back up at Aengus-san, who had an eyebrow raised expectantly, Bickslow continued, "Like I was saying, your chief cook is bossy. **But** … it's okay I guess. It's better than a lot of other things I can think of anyway…"

Rihanna did her utmost not to be mortified and failed miserably. Did Bickslow have no sense? _You don't insult your employer and his establishment like that! Not unless you want to be fired, probably without pay if the filler episodes with Team Natsu are correct!_ Rihanna watched in trepidation as Aengus-san stood up very slowly from behind his desk and stomped around it to stand directly in front of them, his massive shoulders casting a surprisingly long shadow in the light as he loomed. Rihanna lightly hiccuped air as Bickslow suddenly pulled her behind him, Pappa and Pippi swirling protectively around her head as he obviously prepared to run from the large adult.

The tension in the air built rapidly, so much so that Rihanna was fairly certain she could actually see anime lightning bolts darting between Aengus-san's and Bickslow's eyes. The tension hit a crescendo…

Then fell miserably flat as Aengus-san burst out laughing, one large hand slapping his knee as he bent double from his booming guffaws, "An honest opinion and no mistake! I like ye lad, that I do! Ha!"

Rihanna felt her eyes widen in surprise at the sudden turn of mood then droop into a deadpan expression, _he did that just to mess with us, didn't he?_ Bickslow straightened up slowly from his defensive position, head cocking to one side in puzzlement at Aengus-san's reaction. Aengus-san slowly got control over his laughter and stood up, a huge smile splitting his face from underneath his wooly red mustache, "Ye'r Fairy Tail recruits a'right! No mistaking one o' Makarov's brood! Though, that was probably a given the moment I heard all the yelling at the customers an' the explosion in the kitchen."

Bickslow's face must have held a sheepish expression because Aengus-san winked at him, "Aye, I heard all o' that. But I ain't gonna dock your pay. Causing a ruckus is a trademark o' the guild. Ye should be proud ye'r livin' up ta the reputation already! Oi, Margaret!"

The door opened and Margaret-san, the restaurant manager who had saved them from ridiculously arduous tasks earlier that day, stepped inside, "Yes, Aengus-san?"

Aengus-san motioned to the two children with a finger and wink, "I think we can manage the dinner rush when it comes. Give these two kids their pay an' let 'em go."

Margaret-san nodded and pulled an envelope out of her pocket, proving that she must have already guessed what Aengus-san was going to say. Leaning down, she held out the envelope to a clearly baffled Rihanna, "Here, Wren-chan. You carry this and make sure that reckless brother of yours doesn't lose it before he even gets back to the guild, ne?"

Bickslow bristled, "Hey! Are you calling me stupid?" Pappa and Pippi bobbed indignantly in the air, chorusing the last word of the sentence accusingly.

Margaret-san started to answer when Aengus-san beat her to it, "She means no offense, laddie. Margaret here just knows that in every group o' Fairies that come in here, one of them is the one who still has a touch of sense. That one, despite her age, would be your little sister in this case."

Bickslow looked like he was going to question what Aengus-san meant, or maybe protest, but then shut his mouth without a word and nodded grudgingly instead. Rihanna raised an eyebrow slightly as she accepted the envelope and held it close to her chest, not sure what to make of Aengus-san's words either despite guessing them to be true.

Aengus-san and Margaret-san bid them goodbye and very soon Bickslow and she were on their way back to the guild building, Bickslow holding a map drawn on the back of their job poster and Rihanna clutching their pay. The sun was well past its noon position, but there was still many hours in the day left by Rihanna's estimation as they walked, the canal water lapping gently in its stone banks and people calling cheerful greetings to the two newest members of Fairy Tail.

Bickslow stayed very quiet the entire walk back to the guild, not even conveying anything through Pappa and Pippi. Rihanna had no way to break the silence, and no real idea what she would do if she could. It was clear that Bickslow was trying to absorb the enormous differences between the people of Magnolia and the people of Aternum, but she didn't know how to help him with that. He would just have to see that people were not all the same on his own.

With the map Margaret-san had kindly drawn for them, it didn't take them anywhere near as long to get back to the guild as it had to get to the restaurant. The moment they walked in through the doors, they were essentially mobbed by a bouncing Cana and other members who wanted to know how their first job had gone. Bickslow shooed them off with mutters that it was fine and, in Cana's case, a rowdy insult match that would have ended in pulled hair and flying magic cards if Macao hadn't managed to separate them in time.

Bickslow slumped down next to Rihanna in a corner of the guild hall, idly chewing on one of the onigiri he'd pocketed earlier as he used one hand to carefully divide their pay into two equal parts with only minimal help from Rihanna and another nearby member. Rihanna was vaguely impressed that Bickslow knew arithmetic and then wondered briefly what age he'd been when he'd first unlocked his eye magic and been kicked out onto the streets. Old enough to have started school surely.

Pushing one pile of jewels, which despite their name were neither shiny nor made of stone, over to Rihanna, Bickslow said, "Here you go." Rihanna accepted the pile of bills eagerly, happy to finally have a way of buying food or other necessities at last. Carefully, she folded the bills and tucked them in one of the cargo pockets on her pants, smiling the entire time. Bickslow noticed her smile and gave one of his own, "Good first job?"

Rihanna nodded emphatically. Despite the strain of it, it had been a good job. There had been no irreparable disasters, they now had money to buy the things they needed instead of resorting to stealing or asking Makarov, and Bickslow had gotten a good taste of what people who weren't passively trying to kill him were like. Plus, her headache from using her magic so much had worn off. All in all, it had been a good job and a worthwhile day so far.

Seeing her nod, Bickslow shifted to watch the other guild members, most of whom were now spontaneously brawling over who had won the latest arm-wrestling match, his smile still hovering on his lips. Pappa and Pippi settled near his shoulders and, though he never spoke, Rihanna was sure she knew what he was thinking.

He was thinking that maybe joining Fairy Tail really was good thing after all.

* * *

 **Japanese Translation: "Gomen, imōto" = "Sorry, little sister"**

 **"nani-nani?" = "What-what?" As in "what are you doing?"**


	8. Chapter 7: School and Plans

**Hey there all! I have an important announcement in the Author's Note, so please remember to read it! But on a side note ... no reviews? Really? (Hides in a corner with anime black cloud of gloom hanging over head) was their first mission really that bad? Cause I really can't tell how I'm doing on these story and characters if nobody talks to me about it...**

 **Author's Note: SO! As my transformers readers probably know is my habit by now, I participate in every NaNoWriMo that I can. Case in point, come July, I will be doing Camp NaNoWriMo for that month. The down side to that is, I will not be updating anything on FanFiction for that month and probably a week or two following (otherwise known as my pass-out-from-depleted-creativity/sugar-rush period). The up side is, I will be working on this story during Camp, so hopefully I will have a bunch of prewritten chapters ready after July is done. There, (dusts hands) you all have been properly warned. Now when there are no updates for a month or so, you all won't think I've abandoned this story or died or something like that (I got a PM like that once, it was funny and adorable all at the same time). Anyway, on to the story!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: School and Plans**

 **(Three weeks after Chap 6)**

 **(Three weeks, four days since joining Guild)**

Rihanna exploded out the doors like a startled cat, practically leading the stampede out the doors as the bell rang to signify the end to a terrible portion of the day. **_Freedom_** _!_ Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Bickslow practically bowling other kids over as he made his way toward her, Pappa hovering high over the crowd and leading its master straight to her.

Bickslow came into full view and he promptly grabbed her wrist so as not to lose her in the crowd again. In any other circumstance, the frazzled look on his face would have been funny. As it was, Rihanna could only sympathize and assume a similar look was etched onto her features.

Working together, they managed to push their way to the edge of the people flow and escape to a corner of the yard. Panting slightly, Rihanna gave a silent groan and leaned heavily against a tree, using her free hand to rub one temple wearily, _and I thought elementary school was bad the first time around … At least it only lasts four hours instead of the entire day this time._ Perks of only having to attend school from seven A.M. to eleven aside, going to elementary school for a second time was absolute murder for her nerves.

For the thousandth time since Makarov had sternly insisted that the two of them would be attending a local school that catered to mage children as well as civilian, Rihanna took back every nasty thought she had ever held against college midterms, and the professors in charge of said midterms. For the hundredth time, she also took back every unkind thought she had ever had about the complicated courses college boasted, the tuition fees for attending college, and the party-crazy girls who had lived in the dorm room next to hers. If she had a choice between what she was going through now and what she'd had to deal with back then, she would go back to college in an instant, no questions asked.

Because whatever anyone else said, college had **nothing** on the purgatory that was kindergarten.

A group of children from said class went by, their shrieks of laughter and colorful clothes making Rihanna visibly cringe away, promptly hiding behind Bickslow in an effort to remain unnoticed by the hyper-active hellions. Seeing her reaction, Bickslow protectively shifted to better hide her presence until the group was successfully out of direct line-of-sight. Turning to face Rihanna, Bickslow asked, "You too, huh?"

Rihanna, too mentally frazzled to utilize the more complicated aspects of their developing hand/body/whistling language, simply gave an over-exaggerated shiver down her entire body. Kindergarten was … alternately too boring, too baffling, and too loud. The children were inquisitive and bouncy with attention spans that at times made a gnat look scholarly. The teacher talked down to Rihanna like she was a child, which admittedly wasn't the teacher's fault because she only looked a year older than the kindergarteners, but was still annoying beyond belief. Most of all, while the classes were inherently unentertaining for her adult mind, Rihanna still found herself struggling to an embarrassing degree.

Having an entirely different, and so much simpler, writing system already crammed in her head was doing her no favors in learning the Japanese writing language. It was like suddenly trying to teach a cat to bark or a large dog to climb trees. It just … didn't work. Her memorization skills were alright, but naturalizing the process of mentally translating hiragana to english letters, then from Japanese words to English ones was long and frustrating.

Then there was writing sequence and grammatical structure. She'd lost count of how many times she'd written something from left to right instead of the teacher's specifically ordered top to bottom or written a short sentence in what basically amounted to Yoda speak just because she kept slipping into english grammatical habits.

Add on top of those frustrations the teacher severely underestimating her intelligence because she was a child and a mute, the perpetual curiosity of the other kindergarteners about the "mute mage girl", and her recent inability to get a decent night's sleep and all in all the resulting experience was beyond miserable.

Seeing her full-body shiver, Bickslow nodded understandingly, his face taking on a distinctly unhappy expression as he glanced over that the children who were his grade-mates but not his age-mates. Rihanna felt a pang of sympathy for Bickslow. In a way, he was having just as hard a time as she. He was the only twelve-year-old in a class of eight-year-olds and that attracted attention. Even if his class-mates didn't seem to mind him terribly and he wasn't completely friendless there, Cana was in his class after all, his status as a third-grader got a lot of ridicule from the other children in higher grades.

Perhaps it didn't seem that bad compared to forcing a former college student to attend kindergarten, but without an adult's mind and maturity to ignore petty childish bullying, third-grade was just as stressful for Bickslow as kindergarten was for Rihanna. Reaching out, Rihanna gently patted Bickslow's arm, offering mutual support and comfort for the boy she had started internally calling a brother.

Together, the two began hurrying out of the schoolyard, avoiding the civilian children who still had to stay in school for another three hours after the lunch/recess period. Somewhere in the quick dash to escape, Cana joined them, her expression a sour one that Rihanna had learned meant Bickslow did something to displease the older girl in class again. Internally, Rihanna groaned. Bickslow was, as they had all recently discovered over the course of the last two weeks, a budding genius at revenge pranks. He had a particular grudge against his homeroom teacher for some reason and he took every opportunity to make trouble for the man.

 _In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best idea to include Bickslow in my gymnastics exercises._ She cocked her head to one side as she pondered that for a moment before shrugging to herself, _in "future sight" on the other hand, any added edge I can give him is a good thing. Besides, he likes it so much, I just can't take it away now._ "What'cha thinking about, _imōto_?"

Rihanna blinked at Bickslow, honestly surprised that he had found time to ask. She'd been fairly certain that Cana and Bickslow would be well into one of their arguments now that the schoolyard was out of sight. She glanced briefly at Cana, who was still glowering, then back to Bickslow and shrugged, unable to express what had been on her mind. Cana's expression changed slightly as Bickslow frowned down at Rihanna, "Not too tired are you? Last night…"

His voice trailed off abruptly as he became aware of Cana on his other side once again. Cana looked from Bickslow to Rihanna, confused concern taking precedence over whatever Bickslow's latest crime was, "You two are still staying in the guild building, right? Did something happen last night?"

Bickslow scowled at Cana briefly before Rihanna nudged him in a silent reminder to be polite. Shifting his schoolbag uncomfortably on his shoulder, Bickslow finally admitted, "Wren has nightmares. She's had them off and on for years, but they've been getting worse lately."

Cana made a troubled noise, "Really? That stinks. What are they about?"

Bickslow stared at the cobblestones and replied gruffly that he didn't really know, but Rihanna wasn't really listening anymore. Just the mention of her nightmares had sent her mind shooting back to the latest one. Bickslow was right to say that they were getting worse, but he was also wrong. The nightmares weren't getting worse in that they were changing into something more terrifying than the previous ones, they were just the same images becoming clearer and more vivid with each repetition.

A crawling sensation ran up her arms as Rihanna unwillingly remembered the nightmares. They weren't ones of her previous home, those barely counted as bad dream compared to the nightmares to which Bickslow was referring, these were random ones she could not determine the origin of. There were two nightmares of particular note, one of which she had suffered in hitherto unknown quality the previous night.

The first one was always running. Running through dense surroundings, possibly a forest, so fast and so far her lungs would burn like fire. The air would be heavy and clouded with a foul-smelling fog, her arms would sting with cuts and scrapes as she heedlessly plowed onward, trying to reach something before it was too late.

In that nightmare she knew what she was running toward, but she always forgot once she woke up. No details would come to her on why she was running save for the unshakable belief that whatever she was running toward was fragile, precious, and completely irreplaceable. Whatever it was, in the nightmare she was always running in order to reach the precious thing, in order to save it.

The nightmarish part was the fact that no matter how hard she ran, how many times she was forced to retread the path through the foggy maze, how hard she fought the obstacles in her path … she was always, **always** too late. By the time she got there, the precious thing would be broken, or gone, she wasn't sure which while conscious, she'd just wake up knowing that she had failed. Failed to protect, failed to save, failed and lost a part of herself because of it.

It was the first of the unusual nightmares that she had ever experienced and had remained the worst until the second of the two most notable nightmares had emerged from her subconscious shortly after joining Fairy Tail.

The second nightmare, which was the one she had experienced last night, would start deceptively peacefully.

She would be wandering in a town she didn't recognize, filled with people she didn't know but somehow felt fondness for anyway. There would be laughter, and muffled speech, and everything would be pleasant. Then, in a heartbeat, somewhere between one sluggish dream thought and the next, the town would be empty. Not burned, or ruined, or seemingly damaged in anyway, but … empty. All life would disappear from it. Every animal, every person, every man, every woman, young, old, or child. Gone. She would try to find them, her feet carrying her against her will through the streets in search of the missing life only to find another fog similar to the one in the Running Nightmare.

But this fog didn't smell lung-burningly foul. It smelled unbearably sweet and was tainted a dull red that coated her vision and got her lost within the marsh it hid. The marsh wasn't deep and didn't try to suck her in like she would have expected of the nightmare, it just sucked at the bottom of her shoes and tripped her with hidden abrupt rises in the soft ground and unstable shifting of surface underfoot.

Eventually, some part of her mind would realize what was wrong with the marsh. She would look down to confirm and see something horrific beyond anything she'd ever seen or imagined before, something that made her recoil and scream and run, stumbling madly to get away from it all because the marsh was really-

Then Rihanna would wake up, lungs pushing out air frantically in an effort to vent her terror as screams, body shaking, eyes wide, adrenaline hammering through her veins as if she'd just run a marathon. Unable to remember what the marsh really was, yet with terror still clinging to her every gasp.

It was a good thing that Bickslow and she still stayed in the same room at night, she honestly wasn't sure what she would have done if the precious boy hadn't been there every time she woke up. Hadn't been there to remind her that everything was okay and that something precious to her wasn't gone or that the unspeakable horror of the marsh wasn't real. Despite being the younger of them mentally, Bickslow was remarkably good at soothing her nightmares. Perhaps it was because as a child he instinctively understood the power of just being held tight by a loved one and listening to the nonsense murmurs of a familiar voice.

Ironically, it was because of the nightmares and Bickslow's unfaltering desire to comfort her about them that Rihanna had one day woken up to discover herself thinking about Bickslow as her brother just as he saw her as his sister. But that was the only good thing that came out of the entire process.

A gentle shake of a hand on her shoulder brought her out of her hazy thoughts on nightmares and dragged her back to the present. Bickslow moved his hand from her shoulder to ruffle her hair, "Stop looking so down, Wren! Makarov-jiji said he had a special job in mind for us today, remember?"

Cana huffed and placed her hands on her hips, "Don't call him that! It's disrespectful to address the Master of the guild so familiarly! Besides, after what you pulled in class, Master might change his mind about this 'special job'."

Bickslow automatically retorted something with a tongue-grin, but Rihanna spotted the faint flinch in Bickslow's shoulders at Cana's use of the word "Master" and the threat of losing the special job.

Bickslow was slowly warming up to Master Makarov and the rest of the guild, but he adamantly refused to call the old guild leader by the word Bickslow associated with slavery and cruelty. Rihanna knew that it was actually a sign of respect that Bickslow called the Master "Makarov-jiji", because it spoke of familiarity and **trust**. But that trust was still fragile and Cana was unintentionally risking damage to it.

For once, Rihanna turned her fully-honed adult glare on Cana and got her attention with a low hiss. Cana took one look at the heavy, disapproving glower and hunched her shoulders defensively, "I'm just saying!" Rihanna refused to relent, continuing to glare at Cana silently until the girl finally caved, "Fine. I'm sorry. Whatever I said to upset you, I'm sorry." Rihanna slowly let up on her frown, still unhappy because Cana was apologizing to her and not Bickslow. _Still, better than nothing._

Seeing that Rihanna's frown was no longer aimed in her direction, Cana muttered, "Sheesh. You'd think I insulted you two or something."

Bickslow snipped back immediately, his guild mark flashing into view briefly as he wagged his tongue as he answered, "Well no one asked for your opinion, shark!"

Cana's hands inched menacingly toward her little purse that contained her weaponized tarot cards, "I've told you again and again to not call me that! I'm not a shark! I don't even look like one!"

Bickslow's responding tongue-grin was decidedly mocking, "No, but you **are** a card shark." Pappa and Pippi took up the accusation by chanting "card shark!" repeatedly and Rihanna rubbed her face with a hand in exasperation, _Oh for the love of Pantherlily, here we go again._

Cana sputtered, as enraged at being called a "card shark" or just "shark" as she had the first time Bickslow had come up with the nickname two and a half weeks ago, "At least I didn't use lasers to set fire to the teacher's desk today!" _He did what?_

Rihanna threw an incredulous look at Bickslow, who didn't notice as he bickered with Cana, "For the last time, that was accident! Pappa and Pippi act weird when I'm bored!"

Cana crossed her arms over her chest and puffed her cheeks at Bickslow, "And the water balloons filled with soy sauce and mayonnaise that just happened to come flying out of nowhere when the teacher opened his top desk drawer?"

Bickslow looked away pointedly, stubbornly refusing eye contact as he sniffed, "That could have been anyone's prank. I'm not the only trouble-maker in the class, you know."

Cana's shriek attracted a few stares from other passersby, "But you still admit to being a trouble-maker in the first place? What kind of logic is that?"

Rihanna felt her patience, already thinned due to the stress of kindergarten purgatory and nightmare-induced insomnia, wear dangerously close to the breaking point. Reaching out to Bickslow's and Cana's shadows, she made the left hands of the shadows firmly cuff their originators on the heads. Both children yelped and clutched their heads with their hands, gazes whipping around to look behind them. Spotting the shadow hands hovering threateningly at their backs, they turned to look at Rihanna.

Rihanna leveled a death glare at them, one eyelid drooping half-shut so that the gaze underneath it was honed like a laser while the eyebrow of her other eye crept menacingly upward, silently warning them to tone down the bickering or suffer the consequences.

Bickslow whined a bit, "But, Wren! She started it!" Cana opened her mouth immediately, no doubt about to refute Bickslow's claim, when Rihanna twitched her fingers and let the shadow tendrils brush the backs of their necks menacingly. Cana's mouth snapped shut with a click and Bickslow swallowed faintly, protests dying on their lips. Though she did her best not to interfere with the two's budding love-hate friendship or use her steadily developing Shadow Magic against them, there were times when their arguments became too much and she resorted to using her magic to break it up.

Both Cana and Bickslow had learned very quickly not to provoke Rihanna when the tendrils of shadows started showing up. She might not have been a powerhouse like the not-yet-joined Natsu or Erza or even Gray, but Rihanna's Shadow Magic had quickly proved itself to be much faster and harder to dodge than either cards or tiki dolls. Plus, her Macao dubbed "Shadow Slap" wasn't exactly a painless experience and when Rihanna's temper had finally worn thin enough to use it, she used it to great effect.

It helped that her control and power-levels were steadily increasing because of the daily training regimen Makarov had given her.

Rihanna continued to level her death glare at the two until she was certain they had gotten the point. With one last menacing pat to their heads via animate shadows, she turned her focus back to the road ahead of her and allowed Cana's and Bickslow's shadows to return to normal. Next to her, there was blessed silence for all of two minutes before Bickslow muttered, " _Same-boke_."

Cana screeched like a cat that had been stepped on, one hand whipping out a lightning card to wave threateningly at Bickslow, "What did you just call me?"

Bickslow sneered at Cana, his tikis cheerfully chanting " _same-boke_! _same-boke_!" while he replied snidely, "I **said** , _Same-boke_. You got a problem with that, **Shark**?"

Cana yelled in rage and tried to slam her lightning card in Bickslow's face. Bickslow dodged by bending over backwards in a flawless display of flexibility, simultaneously retaliating by sending Pappa and Pippi flying at Cana's head. Cana ducked under the tiki dolls and lunged for Bickslow again, one hand reaching into her purse for another card as Bickslow danced away from her with a mocking laugh.

Rihanna managed to keep the fraying threads of her temper intact for about a minute, during which she utilized her gymnastics skills to dodge tiki dolls, cards with various magical effects, and two screeching children.

Then an errant laser set fire to a nearby storefront awning and Rihanna's remaining threads of patience for the two bickering children snapped.

 **~~~~~~~~ Several Minutes Later ~~~~~~~~~**

If Makarov had any thoughts as to why, when Rihanna, Bickslow, and Cana returned from school, Bickslow and Cana were soaking wet and meekly following an irate-looking Rihanna, he wisely kept them to himself. Instead, he gently shooed Cana deeper into the guild building to find a towel before motioning for Bickslow and Rihanna to follow him. Rihanna barely spared Bickslow a glance as they left the guild hall and began making their way down a vaguely familiar set of hallways and stairs.

Bickslow didn't say a word despite looking clearly eager, his spiky blue hair weighted down with water so that it drooped into his face and around his ears. Pappa and Pippi bobbed by his shoulders, not making a peep as Makarov led them through the upper depths of the guild building and ushered them into a room. _Oh, his office. That's what those hallways led to._ Stepping inside, Rihanna blinked once in surprise at the sight of Mest leaning against the wall by a large window.

Mest, spotting them as they entered, smiled warmly, " _Konnichiwa_ , Wren, Bickslow. How was school?" Wren scowled darkly, not in the mood to rehash school via pantomime. She was still repairing her self-restraint after losing her temper at Bickslow and Cana.

Bickslow gave Mest an answering mumble, "Terrible. The teachers are annoying and the other kids are stupid." Glancing at Makarov, who had shut the door firmly and was ambling toward his desk, Bickslow asked, "Do we have to keep going to school, Makarov-jiji? Can't we just skip? Or transfer to a magic-only school?"

Makarov shook his head firmly, "I am sorry, Bickslow, but no. For one, Wren-chan needs to learn how to read and how to do arithmetic. For another, magic schools only take students who have learned certain skills in a normal school first. Neither of you have met the requirement level yet. So you will just have to bear with it for now." He paused and blinked dryly at Bickslow, "Though you know Bickslow, your teachers might be less 'annoying' if you didn't prank them so much."

Bickslow hunched his shoulders and muttered something under his breath. Makarov shook his head and dropped the subject, probably knowing already that scolding Bickslow over the pranks would be a pointless endeavor. Instead, he turned to the reason for which he had led them to his office, "Alright, listen up you two, Mest is going out on a job and he needs the help of at least one child, preferably more. He thought that you two might be interested in assisting him."

Rihanna tilted her head in silent curiosity while Bickslow voiced, "He needs our help? Why?"

Makarov nodded to Mest wordlessly and Mest straightened up from his position by the window to explain, "A request came in today for help escorting a noble's two sons from Magnolia to Suisen. It isn't that far of a journey, no more than two days or so to get there by carriage, but there have been reports of magic-wielding bandits staking out the road between Magnolia and Suisen."

Mest ran a hand through his hair absently as he continued, "He's afraid of bandits robbing the carriage or taking his sons for ransom. The request specifically noted that one of the boys has a tendency to try to slip away from his normal bodyguards because he gets bored, so I thought if his bodyguards were the right age to be his playmates too…" _He wouldn't try to escape from them because he'd be happy playing with them. Clever, there are a few holes in the strategy, but clever._

Bickslow cocked his head to one side slowly, "So … you want us to go with you and help you keep an eye on the kids by … playing with them? Would that even work? I mean, Wren's a mute and I'm…" Bickslow's voice trailed off and one hand flickered idly up to his facial tattoo.

Mest shot Bickslow a sympathetic look while Rihanna felt some of her lingering bad temper at Bickslow drain away in exchange for a desire to comfort him. Makarov gave a rumbling hum, "You'll never know which people can be your friends if you don't go out to meet them, Bickslow." Bickslow gave Makarov an unsure look, to which Makarov just raised an eyebrow patiently. Bickslow then looked over at Rihanna, who tilted her head silently as she considered it.

The job sounded interesting, if a little intimidating because it would require being on the road for at least four days, but Makarov had a point about Bickslow learning to step out of his shell and she trusted Mest to take care of any bandits should they show up. _Why not? It will be an adventure. Plus, it will keep me out of kindergarten for a few days._ Rihanna nodded her approval at Bickslow, who then studied the floor intently for an answer of his own before finally asking, "What's the reward?"

Mest reached into a pocket and pulled out a poster. Unfolding it, he glanced over it briefly before answering, "Five hundred thousand jewels." Rihanna and Bickslow both skewered Mest with an incredulous look and Mest shrugged, "The noble is rich and he's worried about his sons. Guess he figures that the higher the reward, the higher a chance of getting good guards for his kids." _Five hundred thousand jewels? That's over ten times the highest reward Bickslow and I have ever gotten!_

Wordlessly, Bickslow and Rihanna shared a glance. Upon Makarov's gentle recommendation, the two had started to save up their jewels in preparation to buy a place to live. Rihanna had originally thought the suggestion ridiculous because, honestly, who trusted twelve and six-year-olds to know how to budget and pay bills? However, Makarov had gone more in depth upon his suggestion, explaining that the two could not stay indefinitely in the guild building and so they had to either go to the orphanage, or find a place to rent or buy.

Another option was for Rihanna to rent a place in Fairy Hills, the girls-only guild dormitory, while Bickslow rented or purchased his own place, but both Rihanna and Bickslow had shot down the idea immediately. Bickslow was overprotective of his little sister and, quite frankly, Rihanna was just as attached to Bickslow as he was to her. Three years of having only one person in the whole world to trust made it surprisingly difficult to tolerate being separated from that other person.

With Fairy Hills out of the equation, that left finding an apartment or dwelling that could accommodate two. This had earned an entirely new explanation from Makarov when Rihanna had finally managed to expressed her questions about how two children could successfully own a house. How were two children supposed to manage a budget? Pay bills? Responsibly manage money all the while taking jobs and going to school?

The answer, according to Makarov, was that they didn't. The Guild did.

Because of Fairy Tail's tendency to acquire young members who were without family or other responsible adults to look after them, Makarov had long ago instituted a way to help out the ones who refused to go to an orphanage or were boys and couldn't go to Fairy Hills. All members seventeen and under, when they saved enough jewels to make the initial payment and had selected their chosen dwelling, would turn over a waiver signed by Makarov to either the landlord, if it was a rented place, or the companies in charge of electricity/plumbing/etc, if it was being purchased permanently. The waiver would essentially inform the landlord or companies to send all bills to Fairy Tail instead of the child and the bills would then be payed for out of the Guild Treasury.

Rihanna had been reluctantly impressed with the process, even if she could easily imagine all the ways it could go wrong.

Of course, in order to support this program and keep the Guild Treasury from going bankrupt, all Fairy Tail members had to pay a membership fee. The fee was a percentage taken out of each reward, five percent for members thirteen and under, ten percent for fourteen and up.

Makarov had agreed to withhold demanding a membership fee from them until they had a place of their own and together Bickslow and Rihanna had almost gotten enough jewels together to start looking. Now Mest was asking them to accompany him on a job with a reward that, even if divided 60/40 rather than 50/50, they'd still get two hundred thousand jewels out of it. Easily enough to fill out their home-hunting fund.

As if sensing the direction their thoughts were taking, Mest said easily, "We'll split the reward in thirds of course. I've taken several high-ranked jobs recently, so I don't mind. Besides, it would only be fair."

Bickslow and Rihanna shifted their stares to Mest, both silently weighing his words. Bickslow bit his bottom lip briefly before saying, "Okay. We'll do it."

Mest's face broke into an easy smile, "Perfect! The job starts tomorrow. Meet me at the front entrance at six in the morning, okay?"

Both of them nodded and Mest cheerfully teleported away instead of exiting the room through the door like a normal person. As Bickslow and Rihanna made to leave as well, Makarov spoke up, "I'll contact the school and inform them of your absence. Good luck tomorrow." Rihanna watched Bickslow glance over his shoulder at Makarov, eyes flickering green for a moment. What Bickslow saw in Makarov's colors, he never said, but a look of surprise flashed over his features because of it. The surprise was followed quickly by a faint blush at the tips of Bickslow's ears and a tentative smile as he hurried out of the office to go find a towel. Rihanna followed Bickslow before turning aside to go back to the guild hall, internally wondering what was going to happen on the job with Mest starting the next day.

 _Why do I get the feeling that this job is going to be way more of an adventure than it sounds?_ Rihanna stepped through the door into the guild hall and promptly had to dodge into the shadows to avoid getting flattened by a flying table. She felt her eyebrow twitch faintly as she exited the shadows and made a dive to hide behind the bar instead, ducking and weaving through the massive daily brawl with rapidly-honing skill. _Right, because I'm part of Fairy Tail now. The mission tomorrow is probably doomed._

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Is the mission doomed to be a Team Natsu-style adventure? Also, any ideas for a retaliatory nickname Cana could give Bickslow. No swearwords or anything crude please. Cana's only a kid.**

 **Japanese Translation: Imōto = Little Sister (shouldn't everyone know this one by now? Oh well...)**

 **Same/Same-boke = Shark/Idiot Shark (-boke is a suffix roughly meaning stupid or idiot. According to the online dictionary I found anyway.)**

 **Konnichiwa = Good morning.**


	9. Chapter 8: Escort - Part 1

**I'm back! NaNo went well, but my brain still feels fried. Oh well.**

 **Review Response: Dear Azrael de Angelo, greetings! Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy this story so much! I hope you enjoy this new update!**

 **Dear Fox Princess, hello! First off, thank you for review so many of my chapters, I appreciate it a lot! I think most of your questions were answered by the chapters following them ... but you are correct about the mystery color Bickslow doesn't know the name of. Wren and Cana get alone fine, it's Cana and Wren's tag along bodyguard (AKA Bickslow) that teeter between disaster and infamy.**

 **Dear Guest, hello there! Oh, now that would be telling, now wouldn't it? Feel free to take a guess, but unfortunately her love interest is going to have to remain a mystery for a long time. Remember, she's only physically six right now, so romance is the last thing on her mind. As for Bickslow's overprotective tendencies ... not sure, depends on what kinds of trouble they get into. Here's a new chapter! Enjoy!**

 **Dear Anonymous, hey there! Thank you! I was hoping people would like her and not mind her sibling relationship with Bickslow! Here's an update as requested!**

 **Dear Wandering Mage011, hi! It's okay, I'm just happy you reviewed at all! Oh good, I was afraid their first mission was a bust ... I still haven't quite settled into the groove when it comes to the Fairy Tail world. There's a lot less material on it than say, Transformers. Wren's problem makes my head hurt just thinking about it too, which is why we haven't actually seen the classroom yet (and hopefully never). The nightmares will be explained, but not for a long time yet, so feel free to form theories of your own in the meantime. I'm excited to get this mission arc started, it has a very important plot twist in its later parts... Hope you enjoy!**

 **Dear Dutchess-Of-Dirt, hi there! Wow ... I didn't actually think anyone would figure out what the marsh was. (Tips hat) kudos to you. I hope it wasn't too graphic of a nightmare? It's hard to tell with me sometimes. Glad you're loving it and, you are correct. Their streak of good missions is about to be broken, so hold onto your hats/scarves/loose accessories and get ready for the next couple of chapters!**

 **Author's Note: Hmmm, what to say, what to say ... oh! I'm going to be regularly writing a timestamp of how long Bickslow and Wren have been in the guild right under the chapter title. In case anyone is wondering why ... it's mostly for my own benefit, as I'm trying to keep track of the timeline so I know where to make changes and when, but hopefully it will be useful to you all as well. Any guesses on to what goes wrong on their upcoming mission? Let's see ... nope, I can't think of anything else to say at the moment so ... on to chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: Escort, Part 1**

 **(Three weeks, five days since joining Guild)**

Mest bowed politely at the waist in greeting to the tall, slightly portly man sitting behind the desk in front of them. Rihanna nudged Bickslow hard in the side before doing the same, Bickslow clumsily following her lead with a faint grumble. As they straightened up, Mest smiled and said, "Greetings Spellmeyer-san, I am Mest from Fairy Tail and these are Bickslow-kun and Wren-chan. We are here to fulfill the request you posted."

Spellmeyer-san looked down at Bickslow and Rihanna with obvious skepticism, "Just you and two children? To protect my boys? Isn't that a bit…" His voice trailed off as he notice the death glare Bickslow was giving him and Rihanna's deadpan expression.

Sensing the rising tensions, Mest stepped forward just a bit and waved placatingly, "They may be young, but I assure you, Spellmeyer-san, the three of us are perfectly capable of escorting your sons to Suisen. We are all fully fledged members of Fairy Tail, after all." Spellmeyer-san still looked doubtful, but apparently the reputation of Fairy Tail was enough to keep him from making a bigger deal out of his doubts.

Clearing his throat a little, Spellmeyer-san steepled his fingers fingers together and leaned his elbows, "Yes, well, most of the necessary details were included on the job poster I commissioned. As stated on the poster, you will be escorting my two sons, Orazio and Conrad, to a boarding school in Suisen. Under no circumstances are you to let them come to harm from bandits or wild animals or … or what have you. Now, Conrad has a tendency to … wander when bored, so under no circumstances are you to let him out of your sight, especially when the carriage is stopped. Supplies for your journey are included, but you will only receive your pay when you return from having safely escorted my sons to their destination. Understood?"

Mest nodded seriously, "Of course, Spellmeyer-san." Rihanna mirrored his solemn nod, then shot Bickslow a hooded look when the boy only frowned thoughtfully at their client. Luckily, Bickslow seemed to know better than to voice whatever was going through his head, and thus said nothing as Spellmeyer-san stood up and rang a small bell that had been sitting on his desk.

Behind them, the door to the spacious study opened and the butler who had shown them the way in poked his head around the door, "You rang, sir?"

Spellmeyer-san set the little bell down as he ordered, "Bring Orazio and Conrad here at once."

The surprisingly english-looking butler bobbed his head respectfully and disappeared, shutting the door behind him as he left to go do as ordered. While they waited for the butler to return with Spellmeyer-san's sons, Rihanna took the opportunity to visually examine the study again.

It was a fairy impressive room, even though it was not overly-opulent. It had a high ceiling to accommodate the towering shelves of books lining two of the walls. Behind the deep mahogany desk Spellmeyer-san had previously been sitting behind was a decently-sized window that offered a lovely view of the back gardens below it. The carpet under their feet was a deep wine color that matched the window curtains and added a surprisingly calm, if formal, air to the room.

Here and there on the towering bookshelves, Rihanna could see a few nicknacks that helped make the place look lived in. A few ornate snowglobes, antique bookends who served no real purpose because of how full the shelves were with books, and even what looked to be a model dragon all in silver, posed in a classic roaring position with little silver wires forming its flames.

All in all, while it was clearly the study of a wealthy person, it did not scream arrogance and riches like she had half-expected it to. It was also very european for a study belonging to a man who spoke Japanese, but then, Magnolia and Aternum hadn't exactly been models of asian architecture either. _Still, it seems odd that a world that speaks and writes Japanese would have so many clearly non-Japanese influences. Architecture, names, clothing styles, it's like someone took the various more well-known cultures of the world, threw them into a massive blender, and decided to name the result Earthland._

Rihanna cocked her head thoughtfully to herself, _then again, this is another world entirely. I suppose I shouldn't keep expecting things to follow any of the rules and norms of Earth._ Rihanna snapped out of that line of thought in favor of switching her focus to Bickslow, who was now beginning to tentatively wander around the study while Mest and Spellmeyer-san discussed various details of the job and reports of bandit activities on the route there.

Rihanna narrowed her eyes slightly in worry as Bickslow approached one of the bookshelves and decided to follow him. It wouldn't do for Bickslow to accidentally set the books on fire with Pappa's and Pippi's lasers after all. _Though why one man needs all these books in his study is beyond me. Surely they aren't all for research and managing his business?_ Approaching Bickslow from behind, Rihanna clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth questioningly. Bickslow barely glanced at her before he resumed studying the names of the books at his eye-level, "Just looking for something interesting."

Rihanna crossed her arms over her chest and clicked a different pattern with her tongue, finishing it with a faint hiss of air between her teeth. Bickslow waved a hand at her absently, "I won't. But it's boring listening to them talk and I've never been this close to so many books before." Rihanna mentally conceded the point. With their previous lifestyle, neither of them had exactly had a chance to peruse a bookstore or library. Or see the inside of a house as big and well-to-do as this.

Rihanna idly scoped out the titles of the books, trying to will her brain into comprehending the scribbles of kanji. Of course, the effort failed to do anything other than frustrate her and she sighed. Just as she was about to get Bickslow's attention and hopefully steer him away from the bookshelves before anything got knocked over or proved flammable by the boredly spinning Pappa and Pippi, the study door creaked open.

All eyes swung to the door in time to see the butler gently herd in a young boy around Bickslow's age, his nose firmly buried in a book and seemingly oblivious of the fact that he was now in the presence of three strangers. The butler calmly closed the door behind him and steered the still-reading boy into the center of the room before saying, "Orazio-dono, we are here."

The boy blinked once, then twice before looking up from his book and noticing the other people in the room. He looked sheepish for a moment before he closed the book and bowed politely, "Ah, _sumimasen_ , I am Orazio Spellmeyer, it is an honor to meet you. Are you the mages from Fairy Tail sent to escort my brother and I?"

Rihanna blink herself before raising an eyebrow, _wow, he speaks … very politely. I must be too used to Bickslow._ Absently she bowed slightly in return to Orazio, not even bothering to nudge Bickslow into doing so as she was just a little too far to do so while still keeping the motion subtle. Bickslow crossed his arms over his chest, a vaguely nervous expression flitting over his face as Mest introduced them to Orazio.

As Mest introduced Bickslow and Wren, Orazio turned curious blue-green eyes on them, his gaze settling almost instantly on Bickslow's facial tattoo. Bickslow, sensing where Orazio's gaze was primarily resting, started to bristle defensively. Thankfully, any conversation between the two was cut off when Spellmeyer-san said, "Sebastian, where is Conrad?"

Sebastian's face didn't change from its politely neutral expression, but he still somehow managed to give off a weary air, "I am afraid Conrad-dono is missing again, Spellmeyer-sama. His teachers have not seen him since breakfast this morning. Akio-taichō and his men are already searching the grounds for him, sir."

Spellmeyer-san's face took on an expression of long-suffering and he muttered under his breath about reckless sons and their irresponsible ways. Rihanna carefully filed some of the mumbles away in her mind, already working on categorizing who was going to be the biggest problem on the journey to Suisen. Orazio didn't seem too bad, a little oblivious and something of a bookworm, but not spoiled or irresponsible. Conrad of course, had yet to be introduced, but if the butler's report and Spellmeyer-san's reaction was anything to go on, Conrad was a troublemaker.

"What are you staring at?" Bickslow irritated snap drew Rihanna out of her thoughts again and to where Orazio and Bickslow were having some kind of stare-off. Rihanna sighed and resisted the urge to face palm, _then again…_ Orazio cocked his head as he hastily averted his gaze to the floor, "Sorry, I was just curious. How did you convince your parents to let you get a tattoo?"

Bickslow went very, very still and Rihanna took a careful intake of air as she immediately made to grab her adoptive brother's arm. She hissed softly to get Bickslow's attention, shaking her head rapidly when he finally looked at her to convey that lashing out at Orazio would be a bad idea. It wasn't the boy's fault that he had just stumbled upon two incredibly sensitive topics at once. For a long moment, Rihanna thought Bickslow was going to try punching Orazio anyway. Violence was his knee-jerk reaction to most things and being in Fairy Tail certainly hadn't curbed that trait.

Instead, he surprised her by taking a deep, steadying breath and growling out from between clenched teeth, "Wren and I are orphans and my … tattoo is none of your business."

Orazio shied away from Bickslow slightly, unnerved by Bickslow's rigid tone of voice, "O-oh! Sorry! I didn't know…"

Mest came over and lightly patted Orazio's head, "It's alright, Orazio-kun, but you should remember not to inquire to impolitely into other people's pasts from now on, ne?"

Orazio nodded immediately and glanced shyly at Bickslow and Rihanna again, "Hn, I apologize again, it was not my intent to be impolite-" Further conversation was cut off by the door to the study slamming unceremoniously open.

All three mages jumped slightly in surprise and whirled toward the noise. The perpetrator of the noise turned out to be a tough-looking man in some kind of uniform, a squirming boy being dragged with one hand by the back of his shirt. The boy squirmed harder, his bleached blond hair nearly falling into his eyes as he shouted, "Let me go! Unhand me! I demand you let me go right now!"

The man unceremoniously shoved the boy into the center of the room, his expression a thunderous glower as he turned to Spellmeyer-san, "Found him trying to climb the estate wall, Spellmeyer-sama. Almost fell and broke his neck."

The boy, Conrad presumably, shouted indignantly, "Only because you distracted me, _Taichō-boke_!"

The man, presumably an officer of Spellmeyer-san's estate guards, practically growled at Conrad, his expression one that hinted distinctly at patience worn much too thin, "I can't wait for you to be shipped off to Suisen, _gaki_ , then when you escape and get lost or kidnapped by some criminal it will be their problem and not mine!"

Rihanna tilted her head back fractionally, _woah, serious aggression going on there._ Spellmeyer-san broke up the rising shouting match between boy and guard by booming in a surprisingly loud voice, "That's enough, Conrad!" The boy didn't jump or flinch, he simply turned to glower at his father a look of pure rebellion on his face. _So much for an easy mission. I can feel the headache coming on already._ Spellmeyer-san rubbed a hand over his face tiredly, "Conrad, son, we have been over this before, you are not allowed to leave the grounds unescorted-"

Conrad snorted and looked away as Spellmeyer-san started to launch into a lecture that had clearly been given many times. Spellmeyer-san's voice trailed off and he scowled before heaving a heavy sigh and turning to Mest, "This is my other son, Conrad. He's the one I warned you about." _We're supposed to keep this brat entertained?_ Mest looked vaguely unsure of how to react to Conrad, who was now staring semi-curiously at the mages in the study.

Rihanna and Bickslow exchanged a look, instinctively communicating their opinions without words, the simple meaning of various signals combining into more complicated sentences. Rihanna rolled her eyes and flicked the index and middle fingers of her left hand in Conrad's direction, _"He's annoying."_

Bickslow gave a minute nod and sneered, meshing his fingers together briefly and clicking his tongue once, _"Think we can tie him up?"_

Rihanna glanced from Conrad, who was staring at them, to Spellmeyer-san, who was busy trying to calm down his guard, then shook her head faintly, raising her right hand to her eyes and making a flicking motion toward the horizon, _"No. Too many witnesses."_

"Who are **you two** , and why are you wiggling and clicking to each other like squirrels?" Rihanna and Bickslow looked away from their conversation to deadpan at Conrad, who had come stomping up to stand next to Orazio. A part of her mind that wasn't irritated noted how Conrad was taller than Orazio and promptly concluded that despite their near-identical appearances, they probably weren't twins.

The rest of her simply settled back to watch the proverbial fireworks as Bickslow opened his mouth, "We're Fairy Tail mages, your dad hired us to make sure some unlucky idiot of a bandit doesn't get annoyed out of his skull after kidnapping you."

Orazio's eyes went wide as he looked from Conrad to Bickslow, then back, carefully inching away as Conrad stomped forward to go nose to nose with Bickslow, "What did you just say?"

Bickslow leaned forward aggressively so that their foreheads were pressed together, "I said that we're Fairy Tail mages here to make sure you don't get foisted off on some idiot bandit who'd stupidly think you're worth something!"

Conrad's right fist balled up and he started to raise it, "Take that back right now!"

Bickslow's voice rose to match Conrad's volume, easily attracting the attention of everyone else in the room, "Or what?" Pappa and Pippi, stirred into action by Bickslow heightened emotions, chanted tauntingly, "or what? or what?"

Rihanna watched the immature exchange of insults, a headache slowly building behind her eyes. _Is Bickslow going to do this with_ ** _every_** _kid he meets? Is this some kind of street orphan friendship ritual or something? Because he never did this with me._ A timid voice from her other side drew her attention to Orazio, " _Ano_ , _nii-chan_ , can you please calm down? Bickslow-san, can you please not provoke my _nii-chan_?"

Rihanna looked up at Orazio, examining his nervous expression and the way he clutched his book. She then looked over at Mest, who was approaching cautiously and trying to get the attention of the two arguing boys without risking getting smacked somewhere sensitive by a startled tiki doll. Breathing out heavily through her nose, Rihanna raised one hand and swung it at thin air, velvet sensations running over her fingers as she tugged at her Shadow Magic.

Bickslow yelped and glowered reflexively at Rihanna while Conrad yelled in surprise and looked around wildly for what had just cuffed his head. Bickslow rubbed the back of his head even though her smack had been lighter than normal, "Wren! What was that for?"

Wren lowered her hand and narrowed her eyes at Bickslow, snapping her fingers twice and making a vertical spinning motion with the index finger of her right hand, _"Pay attention."_

Bickslow looked away from her and up at Mest, "What?"

Mest blinked once and then turned to Spellmeyer-san and the grouchy guard, "Like I said, Spellmeyer-san, Yamada-san, my two partners are perfectly capable of handling Conrad-kun and seeing both him and Orazio-kun safely to Suisen."

The guard, Yamada-san apparently, switched his gaze from Conrad to Bickslow to Rihanna and back again, "Which one of you did that?"

Rihanna raised a hand lazily and she suddenly had an angry twelve-to-thirteen-year-old towering over her, fist pulled back, "You hit me? How dare you-"

Bickslow was suddenly between Rihanna and Conrad, his voice going down to a surprisingly menacing pitch for a child as Pappa and Pippi's eyes glowed green, "You wanna fight, you fight with me. Got it, **Conrad-kun**?"

Conrad froze, then backed off slowly, his eyes widening at something Rihanna couldn't see from her position behind Bickslow, "R-right…"

After a little more glowering and snarling, final arrangements and introductions were made and the three mages, their child clients, and several of Spellmeyer-san's men all filed down to the front yard of the estate. A carriage and several saddled horses were already waiting for them and, after another moment of discussion, Rihanna found herself sitting inside the carriage with a bookworm, a hot-headed brat, and a hot-headed brat with weaponized tiki dolls who also happened to be her adoptive brother. She could practically see the tension sizzling in the air like heat waves off pavement on a mid-summer afternoon.

Mest was sitting on the outside of the carriage next to the driver. Where the sun would inevitably beat down on him with all the zeal of a surprisingly hot Fiore spring day, with bugs to potentially buzz annoyingly around his head, and surrounded by men who were older than him and thus only respected his suggestions because he was a mage of Fairy Tail.

 _Lucky guy._

Rihanna settled back on her seat, silently prepping her Shadow Magic for when Bickslow and Conrad would inevitably cease in their staring match to start a physical fight instead. Next to her, Orazio read a large book, his shoulders hunched and head ducked as if to use the book as a shield from the tension.

Rihanna closed her eyes tiredly as the carriage rolled down the road, absently remembering how she had successfully broken up the fight between Cana and Bickslow yesterday. They hadn't fought for the rest of the day after she'd lost her temper. _I wonder if there's a river or pond at our first campsite. Might make things so much more convenient._

* * *

 **Japanese Translations: Sumimasen - "Excuse me" or "Pardon me"**

 **Taichō - Captain/officer of a similar rank to a Captain.**


	10. Chapter 9: Escort - Part 2

**Hi all! Would have posted this yesterday, but the Transformers chapter took over three hours to edit and post and by the time I was done with it ... I just didn't have the energy to repeat the process with this chapter. Sorry. Anyway, it's here now, I hope you all enjoy!**

 **Review Response: Dear ShadowShock, hi! (shuffles) Aw, thank's for the compliments and for giving this story a shot despite it not being in a show you know! I've done that a few times myself actually ... it's how I got semi-adicted to One Piece. Anyway, hope you enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear Hazel tree09, hello! (Bows) Thank you, I did my best to capture their unique charm. I think it helped that I'd binge-watched about half a story arc before writing that chapter... Yes! (pumps fist in the air) Someone got the reference! The Tora mentioned is, in fact, "that" Tora and I might feature a one-shot of them doing that mission sometime. It would be fun to write, but I'd half to be in the correct mood to pull it off. Thank you, I wasn't sure how the restaurant mission would go over. I was honestly stumped as to what sorts of missions mages do when they're A: not saving the world and B: just kids. Good to know you liked it. Hope you enjoy this one too!**

 **Author's Note: So, part 2 of Rihanna's first mission that will have Fairy Tail Luck (capitalized because I swear that's an actual thing), I hope you enjoy. Also, please note that aside from Mest, Bickslow, and Bickslow's tikis, all characters featured in this chapter are my OCs and are thus not to be borrowed. Suisen and Takimura are my creations as well. Now, without further ado (bows) enjoy!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs who are planning to steal my plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: Escort - Part 2**

 **(Three weeks, six days since joining Guild)**

The forest surrounding the road between Magnolia and Suisen was peaceful. The afternoon sun was hanging high overhead, illuminating the comings and goings of the chirping birds and little forest animals. In one particular section of the forest, the peace was suddenly broken by a high-pitched scream of outrage that sent nearby birds flying away in terror, "Argh! Let go, let go, let go!"

Rihanna didn't even bother looking over her shoulder as she calmly dragged Conrad back towards the place where the carriage had stopped for lunch and to let the children in the carriage stretch their legs. The physically older boy flailed uselessly, trying to reach her or grab hold of something to stop his steady retrieval, but to no avail.

Of course, in any normal circumstance, there was no way a six-year-old girl could physically drag a larger twelve-to-thirteen-year-old boy with anger issues by the ankle against his will. Or at all. But naturally, Rihanna had one thing that threw normal circumstance out the window. Namely, she had Shadow Magic with which she could grab Conrad and cheerfully pull him along as if with a black, velvet-steel leash.

"I said, let me go!" At this, Rihanna did glance over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow in a distinctly unimpressed expression. _If you didn't try to run off to who-knows-where while everyone else was playing tag, we wouldn't be in this situation._

Seeing her look, Conrad stuck out his bottom lip, surprisingly unscathed for being dragged across the bumpy forest ground. Rihanna suspected it had something to do with being a resident of a magical anime world, "This is cheating!" Rihanna scoffed silently, _I'm a shadow mage who's somewhere around half your size. Of course I'm cheating. It's also called doing my job._

The two of them finally emerged on the outskirts of their chosen campsite, Mest looking up idly from where he was helping their carriage driver cook lunch. Reaching into his pocket, Mest pulled out a pocket watch and clicked its button, "Huh, nice job, Wren-chan. You almost broke Bickslow's record this time." Rihanna smiled and flicked her fingers so that Conrad was hanging upside down in the air by his captured ankle.

Conrad squawked indignantly, his arms flailing wildly for a few seconds before Rihanna flipped her Shadow Tendril, flicking Conrad into the air before dissolving the shadow so that he could land on his feet. The boy stumbled and fell backward onto his bum, obviously fuming about yet another failed escape attempt.

It was the afternoon of the second day of their journey. It was also Conrad's **fifth** failed escape attempt. For reasons lost on Rihanna, Conrad attempted to escape every time the carriage was stopped for any reason, and once when it hadn't. She was honestly baffled how he hadn't broken an arm in that particular stunt. Unlike stated in the poster, his escape attempts were also clearly not out of boredom, because heavens knew just how absorbed he could get in fighting with Bickslow.

 _Just like right now._ Rihanna thought dryly to herself as she watched Conrad roll across the ground, wrestling with Bickslow and the two yelling challenges the entire time. Sitting on the carriage footboard, Orazio looked up from his book to watch the scuffle with an exasperated expression that Rihanna could sympathize with. Their fights were tiring just to watch and had already caused them to be delayed during the trip.

All Rihanna could really say about that was that it was a good thing someone had thought to bring a spare carriage wheel, because said wheels were by no means laser proof.

Bickslow finally wrestled Conrad to the ground and straddled him, fists raised in the air triumphantly as he yelled, "Hah! I win!"

Conrad squirmed and bucked futilely underneath him, "Oi! Let me up, _baka_! You're heavy as a log!"

One of Spellmeyer-san's regular guards, a cheerful young man named Derek, called, "Don't let him up yet, Bickslow-kun! We'd like to eat lunch in peace without having to search for him afterwards!"

Bickslow flashed a tongue-grin and a cheeky salute at Derek, his tikis chittering in amusement, "No problem, Derek-san!" Conrad yelled something insulting at both Derek and Bickslow and got a bonk on the head from Bickslow in retaliation, sparking a whole new tirade.

Mest sighed and moved away from the pot their designated cook, Patterson, was tending to, "Alright Bickslow, that's enough. Let him up."

Bickslow scowled, "But Mest-!"

Mest shook his head, "No buts. Conrad-kun, if you're going to run off again, I suggest you at least wait until after you've eaten something. Running through the woods isn't much fun on an empty stomach."

Conrad glowered from his position underneath Bickslow, but after a long staring match with Mest, finally consented to not escaping until after lunch. Rihanna shook her head and moved to go sit down next to their second resident problem, who looked up from his book at her approach rather hopefully. Orazio scooted over on the footboard a little to make more room for her, "Thank you for fetching my brother, Wren-chan. That Shadow Magic of yours is really amazing."

Rihanna shrugged lightly, trying not to invoke further interest from the perpetually curious boy. Unlike his brother, Orazio was very polite and didn't try to run off … mostly because he preferred either reading or following someone around asking an endless stream of questions.

Orazio was already pretty much banned from talking to Bickslow at all because of how many times he'd accidentally set off her brother's temper with his questions about where Bickslow came from, what Bickslow's tattoo was, how he and Rihanna could be siblings when they looked nothing alike, and all manner of other innocently nosy questions that lit Bickslow's temper.

For most of that morning, Orazio had turned his attention to Mest, begging his way onto the carriage driver's seat so as to ask Mest a million and one questions about magic, mages, and mage guilds. It was kind of cute, but the look on Mest's face by the time he finally stopped had convinced Rihanna that she didn't want to somehow get caught up in it. _But surely he wouldn't bother asking a mute girl about stuff, would he?_

Orazio closed his book and set it aside, "How long have you been using Shadow Magic, Wren-chan?"

 _Or … he could try anyway._ Neutrally, Rihanna held up one finger. Orazio cocked his head to one side contemplatively, "One … month?" Rihanna shook her head and Orazio guessed again, "Um … a year?" Rihanna nodded and a timid smile lit Orazio's face, "Really? Wow, you're really good for having only used it a year! Was it hard to learn?"

Rihanna shrugged again and made a so-so gesture with one hand. Orazio opened his mouth to ask something else when Patterson called amiably, "Lunch is ready, Orazio-dono, Conrad-dono, _minna_." Both Orazio and Rihanna perked up slightly and started making their way toward the designated lunch area, carefully sidestepping around Bickslow and Conrad, who were currently holding a hissing insult match with their foreheads pressed together while walking.

Shaking her head, Rihanna tugged on Bickslow's shirt as she passed, indicating that he should hurry up. Reluctantly, the two boys broke apart and moved to sit on opposite ends of the cooking fire. Ignoring the drama of the boys, Patterson dished out a simple yet filling traveler's stew for everyone that he claimed to have learned from his aunt.

Rihanna consumed it gratefully, mentally giving thanks for the hundredth time that chopsticks were common but not required in this world. Spoons, knives, and forks were so much easier and practical in her opinion. Settling himself down next to Rihanna and Bickslow, Mest smiled at them, "Well, how do you like long-term missions so far?"

Bickslow growled into his stew slightly, "It would be more fun if that brat wasn't around. Plus, packaged homework is a hassle." His growling stopped and he added almost reluctantly, "Still, it's … really cool to travel and see the countryside and stuff. I've never really been outside a city before…"

Rihanna nodded and smiled, Conrad's escape attempts and Orazio's curiosity aside, it was actually very interesting and fun to be traveling. It wasn't something she had gotten to do too much in her previous life and not at all in her current one, so she was actually enjoying herself for the most part.

Mest smiled at their responses, "Yeah, traveling missions are my favorite ones. All the different places you get to see, all the different people you get to meet, all the stuff you can try … it shows that the world is a lot bigger and more interesting than most people really think it is. There was one mission I took where I got to visit Takimura just in time for their annual spring festival. It was amazing, the mages there used water and fire magic in concert to melt the huge waterfall in the center of town. They melted it just as the sun rose so all the steam refracted the light and made the biggest rainbow I've ever seen."

Rihanna breathed out softly in appreciation as she imagined the scene Mest described. Bickslow looked interested as well, inching fractionally closer to Mest as he tentatively asked about what other things Mest had seen while traveling around Fiore. Rihanna listened to the stories Mest willingly told to Bickslow as she ate her stew, but she couldn't help noticing out of the corner of her eye that they were not Mest's only audience.

Conrad was listening too.

Half an hour later, Rihanna was honestly surprised to find Conrad had not slipped off in an attempt to escape during lunch. Of course, he then ruined any hopes she had that he had finally given up by making a hasty yet stealthy exit while everyone was loading the cooking supplies back onto the top of the carriage. Upon noticing Conrad's absence, Rihanna calmly tugged on Mest's shirt sleeve and pointed toward the forest. Mest blinked at her once, looked around, and then gave a noise that sounded distinctly like a growl of exasperation, "Conrad-kun bolted again?" Rihanna nodded and Mest sighed, "Oh well, I guess I'll-"

Bickslow interrupted Mest by bolting into the forest in the direction Rihanna had pointed with the shout of, "My turn!"

Both Mest and Rihanna watch Bickslow and his tiki dolls vanish into the trees before sharing a worried glance. Bickslow **wanting** to track down Conrad probably meant nothing good for the rich would-be runaway. In fact, Rihanna would not be the surprised in the slightest if Bickslow returned Conrad to camp humiliated and thoroughly pranked. _Though hopefully Bickslow will remember not to accidentally set Conrad's clothes on fire with Pippi again._

Finally, Mest shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, "Well, while Bickslow-kun retrieves Conrad-kun, let's help them finish packing stuff so that we can go as soon as they come back."

Rihanna raised an eyebrow at how Mest was simply letting Bickslow go off to track down Conrad alone, but made no protest. Bickslow needed to learn how to handle missions, and his temper, without anyone hovering over his shoulder and Conrad needed someone to beat the concept of personal safety and humility into his head. Plus, if something went drastically amiss, everyone back at camp would no doubt hear it and Mest could then intervene via teleportation.

Derek chatted easily with Mest as the mage helped him tie down the last of their opened supplies. Because of her small size not being conducive to heavy lifting, Rihanna approached Patterson and managed to coax him into giving her the bowls and silverware to go wash in the stream just a minute or two walk from their camp.

The camp was soon out of sight as she walked into the forest toward the sound of the stream, small pile of bowls and clinking silverware firmly in her arms. Through the trees, Rihanna could hear the muted chatter of the camp, reassuring her that she was not alone or wandering too far as she set the bowls down by the stream and proceeded to rinse and scrub them with the sponge Patterson had handed her. The stream was a pretty one, deep, broad, and fast. Its cool water chortled over its smoothed stone bed and licked at her wrists and lower arms as she dunked one bowl after another into the water and swished it around.

She was almost done with her task when something prickled at her awareness, a whisper of warning velvet across the back of her neck. Rihanna jerked in surprise at the sensation, instantly looking up and around to pinpoint what had caused it.

The training she'd been doing with her Shadow Magic had led her to discover another facet to it she'd never thought existed, Shadow Sense. It was a bit like the famous "spidey-sense" belonging to a certain famous Earth comic character, but was much harder to pinpoint and was based solely in her magic. She had yet to figure out exactly how it worked, but she did know that sometimes when something or someone dangerous was nearby, she would get a sense of it, a feeling of wrongness in the shadows that made her sit up and take notice.

The feeling increased a bit in intensity and Rihanna set down the silverware she'd been washing as quietly as she could. Slowly, she stood up and backed away from the open area around the stream, retreating silently to the cover of a nearby tree where she promptly stood in its shadow. Her eyes swept the area tensely, the feeling of wrongness still increasing until she could feel goosebumps prickling along her skin.

 _What is it? What's wrong? I don't hear anything-_ Rihanna stiffened slightly as she realized something, she couldn't hear anything. Literally. Somewhere in between one breath and the next, all sound had left the near vicinity. She couldn't hear the birds singing, or the squirrels arguing. She couldn't hear the camp behind her, or Conrad's shouts as he was inevitably dragged back to camp by Bickslow. She couldn't even hear the rush of water over stone that should have been easily heard from the stream right in front of her.

But there was nothing. Something, or someone, had just pressed the world's mute button.

A pounding started in her ears as her pulse spiked and her heart slammed against her ribs. It was not true sound, but the closest thing to it at the moment as she started swiveling her head back and forth desperately, trying to pinpoint the source of the sudden lack of sound, every nerve screaming in silent terror at the unnaturalness of what was happening.

But aside from her surroundings all suddenly deciding to become mimes, there was no sign of anything amiss. No other person in sight, no attacker leaping out of the bushes to ambush her, nothing. Rihanna took a deep breath, ignoring the fact that she couldn't even hear the air rushing into her lungs, and forced herself to think it through. _This is magic of some kind. Sound based? Either way, where there's magic on this scale, there's a mage somewhere using it. There aren't supposed to be any mages other than Bickslow, Mest, and I around here and none of us can use … whatever this is. So that leaves a third party…_

Realization hit like a thunderbolt and set Rihanna bolting back for the camp, the pounding in her eardrums seeming to fill her very existence with its uncontested presence, _the bandits from which we're supposed to guard Orazio and Conrad! The poster said the bandits wielded magic, but it never said what kind!_

Just before she could break the cover of the trees and enter the camp, Rihanna skidded to a stop and flung herself to the ground behind a prickly spruce sapling. With wide eyes, Rihanna took in the sight of the camp and tried to stay marginally calm … or at least sensible enough to make a plan.

The six men Spellmeyer-san had sent to accompany the Fairy Tail mages and his sons were all being dragged to one side of the camp, unconscious and being methodically tied up by a skinny man with a black bandana wrapped around his head. Orazio was kicking frantically, his mouth open in silent shrieks of terror as he was dragged out from under the carriage by another thug. Something flickered on the corner of her vision and Rihanna turned her head just in time to see Mest materialize in mid-air, leg whipping around in a vicious roundhouse kick at the head of a well built man with raised ridges of skin running up and down his arms the color of sunburn.

The man raised one of said arms in a block moments before Mest's kick could make contact, something pulsing in the air, possibly wind from the concussive force, raising dust as it did so. Mest twisted in the air, curling in preparation to launch another mid-air attack only to suddenly go flying backwards into the carriage. The carriage dented under the force of impact, rocking dangerously on its wheels as the man Mest had attacked slowly lowered his other hand and relaxed his fist.

The thug trying to capture Orazio, having ducked, now successfully dragged the boy out by his ankle only to have Mest land on him and knock his grip loose. A wrestling match started between the two before Mest teleported away again, trying to attack the other thugs only to be thwarted and smacked back repeatedly by the tall man with the sunburn-like scars.

Rihanna lay there, muscles frozen even as her mind screamed that she should do something. This was a fight and she had to help somehow. But she was so much smaller than her opponents and her magic was far from the heavy-hitting types that let kid-Natsu or kid-Erza send people flying.

Mest was sent hurtling into a tree again, but this time he didn't stagger upright. He slumped against the trunk, head falling forward onto his chest. Rihanna felt her heart freeze in her throat, _Oh no, no, no, no, no! He can't be dead, he has to just be unconscious! It takes way more than crashing into a few things to take down a Fairy Tail mage, right?_ A part of her mind grimly reminded her that this wasn't some idealistic anime anymore but Rihanna pushed the thought aside. She needed to assume the best in order to not panic.

The world was still mute and the bandits easily outnumbered their entire party, let alone the mages in their group. Spellmeyer-san's guards were down for the count, Orazio was already captured, Mest was unconscious, and Rihanna had no idea where Bickslow and Conrad were.

So, for the moment, it was up to her to do something. _I can't fight that many men three times my size all at once! Or even one at a time! So what do I do? What do I do?_

Her time on Aternum's streets flooded back to her and Rihanna pursed her lips together grimly as an answer, feeble but the only one she had, came to her. _I cheat._ Taking a deep breath, Rihanna crawled to the left until she was lying in a patch of natural shadow. She exhaled, tugging on her magic at the same time. Cool velvet rolled over her skin, chilly and all-encompassing even through her clothing as the shadow thickened and rose to swallow her whole.

The world turned greyscale at the same time her sense of hearing came rushing back to her. Rihanna gasped faintly in surprise at the sudden return of sound, then shook her head to focus. Standing up, she hastily took stock of her options. Her limit for being in the shadows had increased over the past few weeks, but it was still in the minutes category, and could still be counted via fingers.

"Oi! Stop moving, brat!" Rihanna looked over at where one of the bandits was trying, unsuccessfully, to hold Orazio down long enough to tie him up. The man finally resorted to smacking the boy roughly, drawing a cry of pain from Orazio that made Rihanna's blood boil.

The man who had knocked out Mest turned to look coldly at Orazio's captor, "Horea, damage the boy again and I will **remove** you from the operation."

Horea flinched, "Yes, Ulrich-kachō." _They're talking to each other … how can they hear? Does the silencing magic only work on certain people?_

Ulrich, who seemed to be some kind of leader, looked around, "Are there signs of any other guild mages in the area?"

Rihanna carefully didn't move as another bandit looked around, his eyes sweeping right over her without seeing, "None, Ulrich-kachō."

Ulrich hummed faintly before turning to look back at Mest. Rihanna swallowed hard at the look in Ulrich's eyes, it was not a look she wanted turned on anyone she knew. It was the look of someone contemplating whether or not it was worth the effort to squish a bug. _What kind of bandits are these? There is no way this should have been a mission available to kids! Then again, Spellmeyer-san did say something about there being very little knowledge of the bandits methods and numbers…_

Ulrich seemed to come to a decision and slowly, casually, raised his left fist. Something swirled and twisted around his fist and Rihanna's Shadow Sense positively screamed. Before she was even aware of what she was doing, or that she had no method to her sudden madness, Rihanna was raising her hands, dropping out of the shadows for better concentration as she went through the familiar motions of grabbing someone else's shadow and manipulating it.

The world was muted to Rihanna again, but from the way everyone conscious in the overrun camp froze, the smack of flesh being struck must have been loud. Ulrich's head bent forward to his chest, both of his hands reaching up to his head automatically even as his face twisted into a snarl and he spun on his heels to look for the threat. His shadow didn't change position and Rihanna recklessly used that to her advantage.

Curling her own fist, Rihanna pulled back and punched the air, causing the right arm of Ulrich's shadow to do the same thing. The shadow appendage rocketed through the air before Ulrich had a chance to realize what had previously struck him and buried itself into his nose. The velvet sensations running up her fist flickered and some part of her knew, just knew somehow, that she had broken the lead bandit's nose. Ulrich stumbled back as the camp exploded into a frenzy of searching.

Hastily, Rihanna slammed her fist into the air twice more before releasing Ulrich's shadow and diving back into her greyscale cloak of invisibility. Just as before, sound came snapping back instantly, making her eardrums ring from the yelling that was going on. Rihanna ran through the camp, ducking around rushing feet and legs until she came to a rolling stop under the carriage and dropped out of the shadows again to launch another desperate attack.

 _Keep moving, don't let them see you. You're shadow, shadows hide, no one notices shadows. Use their preconceptions against them. Come on, think!_ Rihanna twitched her fingers, shadow tendrils launching from ambient shadows around the camp to wrap around the legs of various bandits, sending them crashing to the ground. Ulrich straightened up, a look of fury on his face and his lips moving in what were clearly loud-volume orders.

Experience of many hard video games for once became useful as she flicked her hands back and forth, sending bandits flying into each other roughly. _Don't give them a chance to recover, hit the boss as often as you can, take out the minions first so they don't stab you in the back when you're not looking._ One shadow tendril launched a bandit with more force than she intended and sent him flying toward Ulrich. Ulrich's fist came up and punched outward, sending the man flying away, his back twisted at an angle very far from normal parameters of movement.

Rihanna suppressed the urge to feel sick and ducked into the shadows again. Ulrich's voice vibrated against her eardrums as he roared, "Find him! Find the blasted Mage!" Rihanna crawled desperately out from under the carriage and started running toward the tree Mest was slumped against, hoping to hide behind it and figure out a way to fix the situation beyond stalling for time with her minor tricks.

She was halfway through the camp when pain exploded through her side and she was suddenly flying sideways. She crashed into the ground, air leaving her lungs in a silent rush as she rolled several times before coming to a stop. She had been winded few times in her life, and it never got any less disconcerting or painful. The sheer need for air after her lungs had become well and truly deflated was terrifying. As she lay there gasping and stunned, a part of her mind managed to find enough braincells to scream, _The world's mute again! I got knocked out of the shadows … how?_ The question of how disappeared under the instinctive impulse to get up and run. She'd been discovered somehow, she needed to **move**.

Her arms twitched as she tried to get up only to freeze at the sight of a gleaming silver point hovering just above her throat. The silver point was connected to a long, slender blade which was in turn connected to a glowering bandit dressed in some kind of demented, ratty, neon version of a classic gentleman's outfit. The man smiled thinly down at her, his free hand coming up to tilt his top hat mockingly, his lips moving without sound in what was clearly a taunt or warning of some kind.

Rihanna stayed frozen, only daring to move her eyes frantically back and forth as she tried to figure out what to do now. The ground vibrated underneath her slightly and pain suddenly lanced through her scalp as someone roughly grabbed her hair and lifted her up by it. Automatically, she opened her mouth in a cry of pain that would not come, hands scrabbling at the calloused fist entangled in her gold curls in an attempt to be released. _Ow-ow-ow-ow! Stop! Make-it-stop!_

The hand shifted, sending spikes of agony through her head and bringing tears to her eyes. Managing to crack open her eyes anyway, she found herself face to face with Ulrich, the presumed boss of the bandits. Fear clawed wildly at her insides as she struggled against his grip. His lips moved in sharp curt motions, but she had no idea what he was saying. Her pain and panic was increasing, growing rapidly to the point where she could feel herself instinctively reaching for the door in her mind, _Don't make me use it- let go! Let go! Stop!_

A meaty fist raised and Rihanna felt another rush of adrenaline in response to her terror. She didn't know what magic Ulrich was using, but she did know that getting punched by him was a very, very bad thing. Mest was simply unconscious, she hoped, but the bandit she had tossed at Ulrich had most definitely been killed and somehow, Rihanna doubted she had Mest's level of durability.

 _No-no-no-_ ** _no_** _!_ Desperately, Rihanna mentally lunged for her door, no other thoughts except survival running through her mind. Something bright and green flashed brilliantly behind Ulrich and he suddenly dropped her, his back arching in seeming pain. The impact with the ground jarred her feet, sending painful vibrations up her ankles which were promptly ignored in favor of placing distance between herself and the bandits. Lunging, Rihanna dived into the shadows again, swerving around the legs of the startled bandits whose voices were now ringing in her ears as they searched for the source of the newest attack.

As she ran, she somehow found her path of retreat carrying her by Mest's slumped form. _I can't leave him behind, but what can I do?_ She started to slow, hand reaching out to grab Mest, though how she planned to drag Mest along to safety, she had no idea. The moment her hand made contact with his sleeve, she started tugging desperately, grunting silently with the effort it took to start moving him.

A strange noise built in the air, a whining just barely perceivable to her senses yet somehow attracting her attention more than the yelling and high pitched screech of green laser fire. _Wait. Laser fire … Bickslow!_ Rihanna looked up wildly, just in time to see Ulrich cocking back his fist in the direction the lasers were coming from. The other bandits were starting to rally, waving weapons or prepping various magics as they prepared to charge into the undergrowth to deal with the newest nuisance.

Rihanna shifted gears, ignoring the headache steadily building in her eyes from dropping in and and out of the shadows so often within such a short timespan. Still clutching Mest's sleeve with one hand, Rihanna threw out her other one toward Ulrich and the other bandits. Shadows swelled, surged, and rose like a hissing black tidal wave, crashing through the camp with a sheer brute force that sent the adults sprawling and cursing.

Rihanna heart was slamming an erratic rhythm against her sore ribs and her headache was growing worse, threatening to eject her from the shadows before it was time. Grabbing Mest with both hands and praying fervently that Bickslow would have the sense to run once he saw they were away, Rihanna heaved with all of her might, hoping to drag Mest somewhere, anywhere that was away from the currently un-winnable battle.

The velvet around her coiled and abruptly deepened, dragging her under like water in a hidden well. Her last thought before the darkness swallowed her whole and sent her spiraling into unconsciousness was that this **really** hadn't been what she meant by "anywhere".

* * *

 **Japanese Translation: "Minna" = Everyone**

 **"Kachō" = Boss/superior officer of some kind of a non-military type**


	11. Chapter 10: Escort - Part 3

**Here we go! Another chapter in which Fairy Tail Luck continues to make itself known and the just-as-infamous Fairy Tail Recklessness comes into play! Also, please note that there is a warning in the Author's Note. Just in case anyone wants to read that sort of thing.**

 **Review Response: Dear Hazel tree09, hi! Thank you, I really appreciate your compliments. I would hope that the chapters aren't too short. They're a minimum of fifteen pages each, usually averaging around twenty! Funnily enough, I actually didn't like Bickslow until I started plotting out this story. I wasn't even going to include him that much and was going to make Wren the sibling figure of another character when Bickslow pranced in and ruined all my carefully arranged plot notes on the matter. But ... he kinda grew on me, so here he is! Glad to know I'm writing him well. Thank you again for the compliments and I hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Dear mun3litKnight, hello! Thank you! So glad it has caught your interest! Here is an update as desired!**

 **Author's Note: So. Warning. There is a cliffhanger in this chapter. Personally, I don't see the need to put a warning about that up here, but some people get agitated when such things are not forewarned. So, here it is! I ... think I covered everything pertinent. Which isn't much. Anyway, onward to the chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten: Escort - Part 3**

Buildings, buildings taller than anything previously remembered. Sounds never heard before, devices unimaginable. It was like a dream and a nightmare and a hallucination all at once. People were talking, brushing shoulders and bumping skin without caring about the contact. It was like drowning, only in people instead of water. It was like burning, only with sound and not fire. Everywhere, everything was an overload of sensory data. Yet behind it all, there was one fact that kept pushing against the senses, slamming and screaming for attention above any other thought.

Everything was **alive**.

The world, dream? suddenly muted and without conscious thought, the view suddenly changed. A door that towered overhead, its engraved surface reaching up to the sky and … a figure. A figure turning and reaching out and-

 _And suddenly reality returned with a pulse of heat and a whisper of true sound that shattered the delicately distorted mirror that was the dream._

.

.

.

* * *

Rihanna was dreaming. She knew she was dreaming, but she didn't know how she knew. All she was sure of was that this was a dream and, for some reason, she was sure that it was going to turn into a nightmare.

It started out innocently enough. She was writing something, her well-loved pencil scratching softly against the paper to form symbols and letters that she couldn't make out despite her close proximity. It was vaguely frustrating, because she knew that if she could just get a clear look at them, she would understand what she was writing. But the words were oddly blurred and out of focus, like a memory that had mostly faded away instead of something she was doing right that instant.

From behind, there was suddenly a voice, old and familiar but frustratingly indistinct. She knew what he was saying, but she couldn't grasp it. The meaning of his words floated just out of her reach even as her body turned on its own to briefly reply to the indecipherable statement, lips quirking briefly in a friendly but dry smile before turning back to her work and resuming her writing.

Then the voice said something else and the world threatened to crash down around her ears. She whirled, papers flying to the floor as she stared incredulously at the speaker, unable to formulate a reply as he said something else, something even more horrible than his previous statement. The world wavered, teetering on the edge of something she didn't want to acknowledge, just one breath away from crumbling around her ears and leaving her desolate and broken. Her magic twisted inside her, tensing and bubbling but she shoved it down, because she had to stay calm. He couldn't have meant that, couldn't have actually said what she thought he said, so there was no need to rouse her magic. Right?

But the words were repeated, loud and irrefutable and undeniable and so horribly unavoidable. She shook her head frantically, he had to be wrong. He had to, because there was no alternative. Because she couldn't let him be right. Because if he was right that would mean her world, the one thing that made it worth living was **gone** and she couldn't let that happen and no-no-no- **no**!

Her world slipped off the edge, horrible realization slammed through her. The weight of the world, of her **failure** , crushed down on her until she could no longer bear the weight or hold it back. She could feel herself snapping under the pressure, her hands flying to her temples in pain while her magic built and built and built despite her best efforts to hold it in. Grief snapped the last restraints and her magic lunged wildly, warping and twisting until it could no longer be controlled and instead rushed out in a flood and-

Rihanna sat up with a jerk, her eyes wild and unfocused, palms reaching up to clutch her temples while her lungs fought to take in enough air. She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to shut out the panic that was coursing through her veins, to avoid seeing the horrible thing that she was certain had been about to unfold. Rihanna was only dimly aware of the rustling of fabric to her left, of other people nearby until familiar hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer so that she was being clutched to a small chest, " _Imōto_! You woke up! You woke up!" One of the hands released her shoulders and stroked her hair clumsily but soothingly, " _Imōto_? Wren? Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Slowly, achingly, Rihanna came back to herself, came back to the knowledge of where she was and who was tightly clinging to her. Her breathing began to slow to something below hyperventilation and she risked opening her eyes. _What…? What happened? What was that dream? Or … nightmare? It was so vivid. But why was I asleep in the first place?_

Memories of what had happened before her nightmare came crawling back and she blinked. _Oh right, I remember now. There was that weird muteness and then bandits attacked and-_ She jerked upright again, her eyes searching her surroundings frantically. Her gaze finally settled on Mest, who was leaning against a large rock, watching her with a concerned expression on his face.

Rihanna exhaled in relief, _Mest's okay. Thank goodness._ Shifting a bit, she looked up at the concerned boy hugging her tightly, _so is Bickslow. Oh thank the stars._ Tentatively, Rihanna hugged Bickslow back in reassurance, nodding a few times to his near constant demand to know if she was alright or not. _I'm fine, I just really want to know what happened back there with my Shadow Magic. Our location would be nice too._

When she had finally convinced Bickslow to release her from his loving near-death grip, Rihanna took careful stock of where they were. They were still in the wilderness as far as she could tell. More specifically, they were in a large clearing with a few large rocks scattered around it and tree roots stubbornly trying to work their way further into the clearing that just as stubbornly denied their presence in favor of grass, flowers, and four people. _Wait, four?_ Rihanna's gaze settled on their fourth member and she stared. Conrad hunched his shoulders at her heavy, questioning gaze.

His once fine clothes were now dirty and torn in several places, his blond hair was streaked with the brown of dirt and the occasional spot of green from the twigs snagged in his tangled locks. His face was no better off in the cleanliness department, though thankfully he had no twigs sticking out of his cheeks or any other such gruesome thought.

All in all, he looked much less like a noble's son and more like the runaway he had repeatedly attempted to become. Watching him carefully, Rihanna pointed at Conrad and whistled inquiringly to Bickslow. She could practically hear Bickslow's death glare, though admittedly, that was probably because Pappa and Pippi had a tendency to growl whenever Bickslow became angry enough. Bickslow finally said something that wasn't an inquiry about Rihanna's health, "He followed me when I went to find you."

Conrad snapped moodily from his corner of the clearing, "You mean when you ran away and let my brother get kidnapped!"

Bickslow's voice rang painfully in her ears as he shouted quite literally over her head, "We were outnumbered, everything was mute, and you can't fight! Besides, you were running too!"

Conrad started to say something else when Mest suddenly cut in, his voice harsher and colder than she'd ever heard it before, "Both of you **be quiet**."

Conrad's mouth clicked shut sharply and Rihanna followed his lead in staring at Mest. Mest leaned forward, wincing slightly at the motion before speaking again, "We will gain nothing from arguing. In fact, you just might lure the bandits here with all of your shouting." Rihanna felt more than saw the two boys flinch obediently at Mest's quiet yet harsh tone.

Mest shifted his gaze to her and Rihanna braced subconsciously for a scolding of some kind. Instead, Mest asked softly, "You were the one who got me out of there somehow, right Wren-chan?" Rihanna nodded once and Mest smiled weakly at her as he rubbed his bruised arm, "Thank you then, I don't know what would have happened to me if you hadn't. But are you really alright? When I came to, you were unconscious. Even Bickslow couldn't wake you once he got here."

Rihanna nodded again to indicate the she was alright, but internally she was puzzling, _I was unconscious? What did I do? How did we all get here? Did Bickslow or Mest carry me here while they retreated? But Mest doesn't really look in any condition to carry someone while running, or walking for that matter, and Bickslow wouldn't be so argumentative if he was exhausted from carrying me around._

Rihanna shook her head in frustration at her own thoughts, there wasn't time for pondering things like that. What mattered was that Orazio and Spellmeyer-san's men weren't there, so that meant they were still in the clutches of Ulrich and his bandits. _Ulrich was going to kill Mest earlier, what if he-?_ She crushed that line of thought, she couldn't assume that the guards were dead. At the very least, they'd need someone to confirm who's son they'd just kidnapped and where to send the ransom demand, right?

Gently prying free of Bickslow's grip, Rihanna turned around so that she could fully communicate with the only person she could comprehensively "talk" to. Using whistles, facial expressions, and hand movements, Rihanna quickly asked _"What do we do now? We need to get the others."_

Bickslow chewed his bottom lip and shrugged, "I don't know. It only took one of them to knock out Mest and we barely escaped them after you hit them with that Shadow Shockwave…"

Mest asked, "What did she say, Bickslow-kun?"

Bickslow looked briefly away from Rihanna, "She asked how we were going to rescue the others from the bandits."

Conrad snorted, "Looked like a bunch of whistling and flailing to me."

Bickslow rounded on Conrad, "Jus' 'cause Wren can't talk like most people do, doesn't mean she can't talk at all! I understand her!" _Thank you Bickslow. Conrad, one more conversation-derailing remark like that and I will smack you with my bare hands. Especially since my magic is on the depleted side._

Mest brought the boys to heel again, "Focus you two. Wren-chan has a point. We need to rescue the others and for that we need a plan. Preferably, we'll wait until I've recovered enough magic to teleport back to the guild and get backup-"

Bickslow interrupted heatedly, his tiki dolls flying a frenzied circuit in the air, "No! This is our mission! We can handle it! Besides, it'll take too long for you to explain everything, for Makarov-jiji to pick out who goes, and for you all to get back before the bandits go to ground! We need to attack while we still have a chance to find them!"

Rihanna bit down on her automatic negative reaction, taking time to think it over while Bickslow, Conrad, and Mest continued to argue. _Bickslow … makes a lot of sense, actually. It makes sense that they would look for us at least for a little while in order to prevent loose ends, but the bandits won't stay in the area for very long and who knows were their hideout is. Depending on how long it's been, it might already be too late to catch them before they reach it, but going back for help would just give them more time to disappear somewhere._

She scowled to herself, _but on the other hand, we're all just kids here. Physically, anyway, and that's what counts at the moment. Mest is the oldest and he'd only around fourteen. Three kids going up against armed and trained adult bandits … not good odds. At all. Even if we weren't outnumbered._

Something Bickslow was saying caught her attention and she tuned back in to the argument, "So what? You can teleport! All you need to do is teleport in there, grab the prisoners, and poof out again!"

Mest ran his hands through his hair in frustration, "It isn't that simple, Bickslow! There's a limit to how many people I can teleport at one time and a **big** part of that is that I have to be touching the people I'm teleporting with me! Even if I could get them all out at one time, I wouldn't be able to go far and those bandits would be on our heels in minutes!"

Bickslow made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat, "So we make a distraction! Wren and I can lure 'em away while you go in and get the prisoners out."

Mest looked scandalized, "I'm not letting two children do something that much dangerous!"

Bickslow snorted, "Please, Wren and I have had to get out of way worse situations than a few bandits chasing us through a forest with lots of hiding places. Right, _Imōto_?" Rihanna blinked once, _Bickslow … actually has a point. It's a risky plan, but it could actually work._ A moment later she contemplated slapping herself, _why am I even considering this? I should be with agreeing with Mest on taking the safer approach!_

The answer was actually simple, she didn't want her hesitance to get anyone killed. She'd seen how easily the head bandit had decided to kill Mest, hesitating would only give him time to make that choice about the others. Not to mention it would be more time that poor Orazio would have to spend as a captive of the bandits. _I must be crazy._ Looking up, Rihanna thumbed at Bickslow and nodded firmly. Mest looked like he was fighting off a headache as he groaned, "Not you too, Wren-chan … you're supposed to be the sensible one."

 _I am, which is why we're making a plan first._ Rihanna communicated that sentiment to Bickslow, who then translated for Mest and Conrad. As the four reluctantly gathered around and started to make a plan, it became rapidly evident that Conrad was an unintentional problem. They had no idea what to do with him and he refused to hide somewhere until they'd pulled off the rescue.

Mest seemed ready to start pulling his own hair out in exasperation as he explained, "Conrad-kun, I know you want to rescue your brother, but you'll just be in the way. This is a stupid thing to do even when the three of us have magic to help us, a boy like you without any-"

Conrad cut in, his fists curled tight with frustration, "But I do!"

A startled silence fell over the group until Bickslow's eyes glowed and he snapped, "What did you say?"

Conrad was stubbornly glaring at the ground, "I have magic. I've been studying since I was seven. I'm n-not very good with it yet, but I've been practicing as much as I can…"

Bickslow sat back a bit on his heels, looking vaguely impressed as his eyes faded back to their normal color, "He's telling the truth."

Rihanna cocked her head to one side, _why didn't he tell us that before?_ Mest unintentionally voiced her question for her and Conrad seemed to bristle like a miffed puppy, "Because Tō-san doesn't want me to become a mage. He says that I have to be a businessman like him and someday take over his business. He says I'm just in a phase and that I'll grow out of it. But I won't! I want to become a mage and join a guild! S-so I started going to the library so I could read their books about magic. When Tō-san found out, he banned me from going to the library and started ordering books for me instead."

Conrad stopped bristling and seemed to sink in on himself, "That's when I started sneaking out of the mansion. I'm good at it too, so good that Tō-san decided to send me to a boarding school to keep me busy. Orazio is going too because he actually wants to go, and I was hoping that if I got away while on the road … I could go join a guild…"

 _Well. I … honestly didn't see that coming._ Rihanna rubbed her forehead with a hand, _I'm honestly not sure who to be more angry at, Conrad's father for actively trying to discourage his son's dreams, or Conrad for going about this so stupidly. Why didn't he just wait until he was eighteen? Then he could have gone off and joined any guild he wanted to and Spellmeyer-san wouldn't have been able to do a thing about it. Then again, I suppose eighteen seems like forever to wait when you're his age… Wonder why he never used his magic while trying to get away? Unless he wanted to keep it a secret from us._

Bickslow sounded less aggressive and more curious for once as he asked, "What kind of magic are you learning?"

Conrad glanced at Bickslow in surprise before answering, "Light Magic. I-it was the easiest to find books on. I can't really do anything with it though. Most of the books only had general use spells like hand flashlights and entertainment tricks like sparkles or tiny firecrackers…" _Flashlights, sparkles, and firecrackers?_ Rihanna's eyes widened, _wait! That's perfect!_

Mest was nodding slowly in sympathy, "I see. Well, that explains a lot and we will certain be having a talk about your desire to become a mage later. Still, I don't think your magic would be of any help-" Rihanna interrupted Mest, whistling sharply to get everyone's attention. As the others' gazes all swung to her, Rihanna pointed at Conrad and mimed holding a flashlight. Her pantomime was met with blank looks and she rolled her eyes impatiently.

Turning to Bickslow, she managed to clumsily convey, _"How bright is his magic flashlight and how fast can he turn it on?"_ Bickslow, puzzled, relayed her question to Conrad. Conrad shrugged slowly, "Really bright. I practiced it the most, used it to read in the dark and stuff like that. As for how long it takes to start the spell … a second or two maybe? I've gotten good at that one at least, the others take more time."

Rihanna worked that over in her mind, a crazy idea blooming until she felt herself grinning crazily, _That just might work!_ Leaning forward, Rihanna began whistling and gesturing, drawing simple pictures in the dirt to help get her ideas across. By the end of it, their mixed little group may not have had a plan worthy of the name "strategy", but they at least had a collection of ideas just crazy enough to work in sync.

* * *

Lorenzo was having a bad day. First, Ulrich-kachō had woken them up before dawn and set them trekking through the woods in the mostly dark hours. All so that they could set up an ambush on a carriage their boss had been forewarned would be coming with two brats just perfect for ransoming. Now, the thought of getting more jewels was an amazing idea and something Lorenzo was normally all for, but stumbling about in the dark, with tree roots and brambles to trip over and be poked by was not a good omen for starting the day.

Then, naturally, their intended targets just had to be late to the ambush, to the point where Ulrich-kachō had ordered them to move down the road and look for the wayward carriage. They had found the carriage eventually, with Ulrich-kachō using his magic to ensure complete surprise on the side of their targets, only to discover that the nobleman had hired a mage to protect his brats.

Admittedly, one mage who was caught off guard and disorientated because of suddenly going deaf wasn't that hard to handle, especially with Ulrich-kachō there, but then it had turned out to be not just one mage, but three, including a little shadow-user brat who had smacked Lorenzo repeatedly with his fellow bandits and successfully broken Ulrich-kachō's nose before getting caught.

Then, before the brat could be put in her place, the third had hazed them from the woods with lasers that really hurt when they made contact and proving impossible to pinpoint. Then the shadow brat had knocked them all flying with a giant shockwave and disappeared with the first mage, followed quickly by the third they never quite managed to spot.

Now, to top it all off, Ulrich-kachō was furious that they had only managed to secure one of the nobleman's brats and insisted that some of them keep combing the woods for the escaped mages while everyone else waited for their resident sadist to force the non-mage guards to reveal where the second child was.

 _Don't see why. One kid is enough to ransom. We don't need to get both when it's this much trouble. If I was boss, I'd say that one is enough and get to demanding jewels already._ However, for better or worse, Lorenzo was not the boss and so was currently traipsing through the woods, slashing moodily at any bush that seemed to look at him wrong, searching for mage kids who were probably already long gone.

Something flickered in the corner of his vision and Lorenzo looked up, startled. For a moment, there was nothing, then he saw a flickering silhouette of someone hunching farther behind a tree about ten yards ahead of him. Lorenzo stared hard at the elbow sticking out just a bit from behind the tree and then sneered, _maybe I'll get a chance at payback after all._ Subconsciously adjusting the neon cuffs of his favorite overcoat, Lorenzo stalked forward quietly, intending to take his prey off guard.

When he was only a foot or so away from the tree, he bent his legs into a ready stance, sword coming up in preparation to lunge and catch the hiding person unawares. With a sudden yell, Lorenzo barreled around the tree, sword point flashing out to pin a hapless shoulder to the tree-

Only to yelp in surprise when his sword buried itself into tree bark where a shoulder should have been, but where there was actually no person at all. _What the-?_ Just as he was forced to a jarring stop by the thick wood of the tree resisting his sword, bright light beamed into his eyes from below, momentarily blinding him with its brightness. Releasing his sword hilt, Lorenzo's hands flashed up instinctively to cover his abused retina, his heels catching on something just as he stumbled backward and destroying the last vestiges of his balance.

Lorenzo went crashing to the ground with a yelp, spots still dancing behind his eyelids and his head protesting to such an abrupt impact with the ground. Something heavy landed on him, knocking the air out of his lungs with a rush. His head pounding, eyes still beset with imaginary spots of color, and now totally breathless, Lorenzo could give no struggle to the young boy straddled on top of him, holding his own sword point to his throat.

The boy smiled thinly at him and Lorenzo wondered dazedly if it was his abused eyes that made it seem as if the boy's eyes were glowing an eerie green, "Listen up, _manuke_ , 'cause I'm only going to ask this once. Where is your base?"

Lorenzo found the words slipping out of his mouth without his consent, a haze settling over his thoughts that prevented him from remembering **why** he shouldn't say where the base was. The haze grew thicker the moment he had finished relaying the required information, the boy's sharp voice being the only clear thing in his mind, "Now go to sleep."

Lorenzo's world went black.

* * *

Bickslow climbed off of the unconscious man, trying to suppress the feeling of revulsion inside him that made his gut roll and prevented him from looking the others in the eye. _I had to do it. I had to. He deserved it for attacking us anyway._ Sliding his eyes to Mest's shoes, he grunted, "That good enough for you?" The words felt thick on his tongue, heavily burdened with anger that he felt, not toward Mest, but toward himself.

The reply came completely devoid of the fear or disgust Bickslow expected to hear, "That's perfect. Just give me to the count of ten to get into position and then start." Bickslow looked up in surprise at how calm and undisturbed Mest sounded at what he had just witnessed, but Mest was already gone, teleported away to get into position for his part of their hastily scratched-together plan.

Wren was already counting, her fingers steadily unfolding from her palm with roughly three seconds in between each finger. She didn't seem disturbed in the slightest at what Bickslow had just done, but then again, she knew what he could do, carried a burden similar to his. Conrad broke the silence that had fallen over them, his voice shaking slightly and making Bickslow's stomach roll a little more, "What … what kind of magic was that?"

Bickslow absently rubbed his fingers over the tattoo on his face, "None of your business. Just focus on the next stage of the plan."

Conrad shrunk away from him fractionally but Bickslow refused to react to the motion. He knew how people felt about his eye magic. He knew that it scared them. It scared him too. Seeing the constantly shifting colors of another person suddenly go still, the normally untouchable shades of emotion and thought becoming perfectly moldable with just a word from Bickslow's mouth…

It was terrifying. And it wasn't even the full extent of what he could do. Ordering information from someone was easy, so pathetically **easy** compared to what his eye magic could really do if he willed it. A moment of eye contact, that was all Bickslow's curse needed to take hold, to make those colors come under his command, his to demand answers from as he pleased … or greyscale completely should he just will it.

Bickslow shuddered to himself, forcing his thoughts away from his eye magic and back to their plan. His eye magic had been necessary for the first part of their plan, but now that the first stage was over, he would be focusing on just using Pappa and Pippi. He wouldn't have to change anyone's colors again.

Wren's tenth finger came up and she nodded sharply to Conrad. Taking a deep breath, Conrad nodded and raised his hands away from his sides. Stepping around the tree they'd been hiding behind to point in the direction the unconscious bandit had come from, Conrad exhaled and clapped sharply. There was a pause, then bright yellow magic seals materialized twenty yards away and exploded into firecrackers, their loud popping shredding the lazy forest quiet like a wild dog through fresh food.

Despite knowing that it was supposed to be that loud, Bickslow flinched at the gunshot-like sounds. Conrad repeated his hand motions, setting off another loud round of firecrackers. In the heavy silence that followed, Bickslow heard the crashing of undergrowth and shouts of "it came from over here!" ringing in the distance. The three children exchanged a glance before taking off to the left of their position, carefully weaving their way through the trees on a path parallel to the one Mest would have taken to reach the hideout.

Every couple of yards, Conrad would stop and set off another round of magic firecrackers, their loud popping and bright lights attracting increasing attention from the nearby criminals they were hoping to thwart. Bickslow let power flood his eyes as they kept running, his gaze sweeping over their surroundings warily as they steadily worked a circuit around the bandit hideout's general location.

Physical things such as the trees and bushes couldn't stop him from seeing people's colors, just from affecting them, marking him as the official lookout for their plan. Bickslow glanced over his right shoulder, quickly counting the number of angrily colored beacons following them, "Ten so far!" His gaze flickered ahead of them and he slid to an abrupt stop, one hand hastily pointing at the beacon of anger only he could see, "There's one coming right for us!"

Wren grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, hissing warningly at him as they kept running. Bickslow swallowed hard, _right, can't stop. There's more of them behind us than in front of us._ Reaching out mentally to Pappa and Pippi, he sent them shooting forward at the approaching presence, their shrill little war cries accenting his own as the three of them thundered out of the bushes and attacked in a whirlwind of desperate magic spells.

Conrad, proving himself useful despite his annoying attitude, flashed a bright beam of light directly into the bandit's eyes, interrupted the spell he'd been preparing so that Pappa and Pippi could slam harshly against his temples. The man went down like a sack of flour off a wagon, Bickslow lithely jumping over his unconscious body without hesitation as they kept running.

For the next several minutes, the pattern repeated. They would set off a loud noise to attract attention and then pick off a straggler of the group that came after them or someone smart enough to circle around their route. At one point, they ran right past a large cave set in the side of a steep rocky slope, the large sign with the name Dark Harrow and the bristling guards Conrad had blinded with a flash of light denoting its status as the hideout.

More and more bandits came after them, trying to catch them and stop their wild rampage through the forest, but none of them able to keep up with two experienced street-rats and a repeated runaway attempter.

Wren tripped another bandit into slamming face first against a tree trunk and Bickslow almost winced at the crunch noise that emanated from the now unconscious man's nose upon impact. Bickslow's eyes glided over their surroundings and he said, "More coming from the left." Then he froze, _wait!_

A prickling sensation rippled over his skin and Bickslow dragged Conrad and Wren to a halt. Spinning them around to face him, he shouted, "Hey! Can you hear me?" Wren's eyes widened and she paled while Conrad looked distinctly confused. Bickslow felt his own face slowly drain of blood as he realized it wasn't just his imagination.

The world had just gone mute.

Spinning in place, Bickslow scoured the rapidly nearing mass of auras, trying to figure out which one was the source of the sudden muteness that had heralded the carriage ambush and their current problem. His eyes were immediately drawn to one aura in particular, one that made his heart skip instinctively with fear.

Black that was dark as ink and blood-slicked red towered over the other presences, a giant among ants. _Slaver. Those are slaver colors, killer colors, murderer!_ Bickslow swallowed hard and pointed frantically in the direction of the towering black and red mass, his lips moving in a warning shout that even himself couldn't hear.

Thick tendrils of smokey grey were extending from the giant aura and into the air, choking out all sound and filling the air with an near-invisible smog that Bickslow could only just now see. _Their boss. The one who mutes everything is their boss! He has to be!_ Next to him, Wren was frowning, her expression the one she always wore when she was working as fast as she could to find a solution to a problem.

Bickslow waved a hand commandingly, sending Pappa and Pippi darting forward as distractions without need for words. Their lasers lit up the woods, gouging into the ground and searing off branches as they whipped into the approaching group of bandits, stinging and harrying wildly in an effort to buy time.

As Pappa and Pippi zipped in and out of the fray, silent explosions of light lit up the bushes just in front of the faltering bandits, almost blinding Bickslow because of his own lack of preparation. Bickslow absently cuffed Conrad on the head as the three of them spun on their heels and ran away. _A little warning next time!_ Conrad made a face at Bickslow as if he'd heard the other boy's thoughts.

Glancing over his shoulder, Bickslow suddenly spotted something in the colors that was … wrong. _What's that glow? Colors don't have that kind of glow-_ A slender hand wrapped around his wrist and jerked him roughly to one side. Before he could fully process what was going on, he and Conrad were pressed in brushy depression of ground where several fallen logs had managed to form a tight triangular hollow in between and under them that the three children could just barely fit in.

Wren pressed up against them, palms of her hands clamped firmly over their mouths, her eyes hard and wild as she visibly struggled to minimize her breathing. Bickslow followed Wren's example instinctively, not wanting to cross his little sister when she was glowing with **those** colors. Twisting purple of maturity wrapped tightly around a dark simmering powder blue and orange mix he had grown to recognize as angrily protective emotions. Intertwining between the two was a slimy green of fear and dancing spots of white exhaustion that made Bickslow worry.

Closing his eyes briefly, Bickslow willed Pappa and Pippi to go flying the other way, hoping to lead the bandits away from their hiding place. Causing a distraction was fine, but there was no way the two of them, three if he counted Conrad's shaky firecracker skills, could take on the towering aura that was the bandit leader.

The silence surrounding them was heavy and unnatural, the sudden inability to tell if someone was coming, or even hear his own labored breathing, was intensely unnerving. Bickslow ruthlessly suppressed the urge to squirm in their almost-too-small hiding place from the sheer amount of adrenaline thrumming through his veins. It was too quiet, too still, too deathly soundless yet reeking of danger.

The presences were coming closer and while Bickslow could no longer turn his head to confirm, out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw the presences split roughly in half around their hollow, slowly trekking past it in search of them. _So they weren't fooled by Pappa and Pippi. Darn it._

The large, black and red aura stopped just outside their hollow and Bickslow could just barely see the tips of large boots. His heart was hammering in his ribs so harshly it was a wonder it hadn't somehow shattered the thick muting grey magic in the air. Bickslow glanced at Wren again in worry, the faint glow of his eye magic barely visible to him under the brilliance of her colors. She was the closest to the exit, the closest to the bandit boss, the closest to danger. _When is Mest going to be done and get us out of here?_ Wren's hand tensed and she suddenly twisted her head to look at him, an expression of horror on her face that confused Bickslow.

She started to move her hand, her lips moving in silent words that he knew he wouldn't have heard even it there wasn't a thick muting magic in the air, when the black and red presence flared. The atmosphere around Bickslow seemed to tense even as his gaze swiveled automatically toward the flaring presence, trying to determine what the man was going to do-

Then something slammed into him and Bickslow was flying, the earth and tree-patched sky switching places several times before he slammed breathlessly into the ground, sharp falling debris slicing at his arms and cheeks as he landed. The world spun as Bickslow shook his head dazedly, lungs rasping and choking as he tried to breathe and instead inhaled the dust-like particles of wood now clogging the air.

Years of experience on the streets had him rolling dazedly onto his hands and knees despite the pain and breathlessness. Shaking his head to clear the dizziness a bit, Bickslow scrambled to regain the rest of his senses, a false sound entering the world by way of his ringing ears. A few feet away, Conrad was still crumpled on the ground, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he too fought against his deflated lungs. _Wren, where's Wren? We need to get out of here before we're completely surrounded!_

Bickslow started to look around frantically, mentally calling Pappa and Pippi back to him, his lack of weaponized tiki dolls having suddenly become a much bigger problem than before. He looked over his shoulder as he wobbled unsteadily to his feet, trying to pinpoint the bandit boss and see if he was about to launch another attack. Bickslow's heart seemed to stop when he finally laid eyes of the bandit boss. His world froze, his mouth went dry, and his gasps were suddenly laced with pure terror.

Wren kicked and struggled against the large hand holding her up in the air by her throat, her shadows slapping futilely against her captor, seemingly unable to strike with any real power. The bandit boss had a look of contempt on his face, the blood-red of his aura thickening with intent as his fingers started to squeeze. Bickslow lurched forward only to be struck down again and pinned from behind.

The other bandits, bruised, scraped, and mildly burned from the chase, closed in on the scene. Their lips moved in mocking jeers that he couldn't hear, some prepping magic spells and waving them around threateningly. Bickslow ignored them, his focus riveted solely on his flailing sister and the man who was **strangling her**. Bickslow bucked and struggled against the grip of his much larger captor, his throat burning from the force of his incoherent and unheard screams. _No. Not again. Not-again-not-again-no-no-no-no-_ ** _NO_** _!_

Wren's struggles were getting weaker, her shadows going limp even as she continued to claw at the hand around her neck. Said hand only gripped tighter. A small part of Bickslow's mind realized with sick terror that if he gripped any harder, Wren wouldn't die from suffocation, but a snapped neck.

Something broke inside Bickslow and he craned his head to catch a glimpse of his captor's eyes. The man's aura became moldable and Bickslow shoved it down completely, all reservations of taking over someone's aura thrown to the wind in the face of his sister's impending death. The weight pressing down on Bickslow eased, but he remained sprawled on the ground, his focus entirely on controlling the bandit he had made eye-contact with, his throat still burning from his continued screams as he sent the man charging toward Wren's would-be killer.

His living puppet lunged wildly at the man holding Wren only to go flying with a single punch, Bickslow's control snapping painfully as there was suddenly no aura to control. All gazes shifted to him and for a moment, despite the muteness of the world, he could almost hear what they were saying, their aura conveying it just as well. Only the one man Bickslow wanted, needed, to make eye contact with refused to look at him, instead staring fixedly at Wren as Bickslow scrambled to his feet.

Bickslow lunged desperately toward the now increasingly still Wren, his entire being screaming, his eyes thrumming with power that was so, so dangerous and yet so, so useless to him right then. The world seemed to slow again as he saw the large man's fingers begin to curl with vindictive intent, the blood-red color thickening until he could almost smell it, and Bickslow's life crashing down around him as he realized one terrifying thing.

He wasn't going to make it in time.

His sister's name leaped soundlessly from his lips, an agonizing one-word plea for help, for salvation, for **anything** that would stop those fingers from tightening further, " **Wren**! **WREN**!"

Thick fingers clenched, the world erupted, and thunder ruptured the silence like the roar of an enraged demon.

* * *

 **Japanese Translation: "Manuke" = calling someone an idiot/moron etc. in a way that is just shy of profane.**


	12. Chapter 11: Lightning and Gratitude

**Hey all! I return! Read the Author's Note for an explanation and a warning, please.**

 **Review Response: Dear Bubbles90, greetings! Glad you think so, here is a (slightly late) update!**

 **Dear Hazel tree09, hi! Thank you, cliffhangers can be tricky for me to write sometimes. Well, except when I don't want to write them, but that's another story for another time (waves hand). Anyway, here is the resolution to the cliffhanger! Hope you enjoy! Yeah, you know a character is a good and life-like one when he/she starts running off with the plot. You're welcome, I hope you enjoy this next one!**

 **Dear Guest, hello! Eh, sorry. Story pacing is story pacing. Here is the resolution for the cliffy though!**

 **Dear Guest hey there! Thank you, this story actually didn't take that long to get off the ground. But that was mostly because I worked on it extensively during Camp NaNoWriMo.**

 **Dear mun3litKnight, hi there! (Bows) Thank you, I meant for it to be intense, and you're welcome, updating is my pleasure! I ... have a few ideas for how she meets the main cast, but that won't start happening for a while. She joined Fairy Tail a year before Grey did, and he was the first of Team Natsu/main cast to join. But who knows? Someone else might show up soon...**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! Maybe ... read on!**

 **Author's Note:** **Sorry for the latish update, but as I explained in my Transformers update, the cable connecting my computer hard drive to the motherboard died a ignoble and unexpected death. I am currently using an external converter to temporarily use my internal hard drive like an external one until my replacement cord shows, and am thus trying to take it easy on my computer. So, until the cord arrives and my computer repairs are finalized, updates on this story will probably be postponed. It shouldn't take more than a week or two, but you have been warned. Until then, enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs who are attempting to steal my plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven - Lightning and Gratitude**

Beyond the pounding in her ears and the blackness threatening to encroach her vision for the very last time, something roared. The darkness was suddenly battered away by dancing, snarling yellow light and Rihanna barely had enough mental capacities to process that she had actually heard something when the fingers choking out her life vanished and she could **breathe** again. Rihanna hit the ground with a thud, her head pounding as she sucked in air greedily like a man dying of thirst who had just found a river.

Her ears were ringing and spots of colors whirled in her vision as she forced life-sustaining oxygen down her bruised throat, unable to think past the sheer relief of being able to inhale and exhale again. After an undeterminable amount of time that might have been seconds, might have been hours but was probably just minutes, Rihanna became aware of the screaming.

Weakly, Rihanna turned her head. Her eyes were still dancing with so many false lines of color that it took a moment to realize that she was not imagining the lightning bolts sizzling through the air, brutally smiting any bandit that tried to run from, or fight against, the whirlwind figure in their midst. _Whoa…_

A silhouette loomed over her and she heard Mest's voice just above her head, "Wren-chan! Wren-chan! Hang on, I'll get you out of here!" Rihanna barely heard him, barely noticed as Mest started to pick her up only to become absorbed in fighting off a particularly violent bandit wielding Fire Magic. She was too busy gasping for air and staring with a heady mixture of awe, terror, and disbelief at the newcomer to the fight.

Because there, no more than ten yards away from her, currently dropkicking a bandit with an electrified foot, was the future S-Class terror, second generation Dragon Slayer, defeater of Jura and the only person other than Makarov and Gildarts that Rihanna could remember one-hit-KO-ing Natsu: Laxus Dreyar. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was wondering when in the world Laxus had gotten here, but the majority of her mind was marveling over the sheer … power being displayed by a boy who didn't look much older than Bickslow.

She could feel the static electricity arcing through the air, rolling off of the spiky-haired blond in waves as he steamrolled over the bandits that had been giving Bickslow, Conrad, and her so much trouble. _Bickslow …_ ** _Bickslow_** _! Conrad!_ Slowly, her lungs finally feeling satisfied enough not to paralyze her, Rihanna rolled over and looked around, trying to find her brother and their client in the rapidly dissolving fray.

Mest was teleporting back and forth, weaving in between two swordsmen who were coming a little close for Rihanna's comfort, momentarily distracting her from her search. Then there was a flash of bright green light to her right and Bickslow's familiar voice shouting profanity that no child his age should shout. Twisting her head to the right, Rihanna saw Bickslow making his way rapidly toward her through the surprisingly thick throng of legs and magic spells, his tiki dolls spitting lasers and death-threats the entire way.

Rihanna struggled to her hands and knees, wincing at the throbbing pain in her neck and head the motion caused. Bickslow was suddenly by her side, his arms wrapping protectively around her while Pappa and Pippi flew a tight formation around the two of them, " _Imōto_! Wren, are you alright? Are you okay?"

Any reply Rihanna might have come up with was forgotten by both of them when the crack of plastic breaking filled the air and Laxus suddenly snarled, "Oi! Don't touch the **headphones**!" His snarl was followed immediately after by a blinding flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder that rattled Rihanna's teeth with its proximity.

As moderate silence fell over the area in the aftermath of Laxus's massive discharge of lightning, Rihanna blinked her eyes rapidly and mused silently, _I'm going to go blind at the rate this is going._ When the latest round of colored spots and lines faded from her vision, Rihanna found herself staring at an area of scorched grass, faintly singed trees … and unconscious bandits with smoke curling faintly off of their blackened clothes. _Whoa. Just … whoa. He did all this? Why didn't he do that sooner?_

Mest dusted his shoulder off and flexed his fingers as if they were stiff and sore, " **Ow**. Seriously, Laxus. Wasn't that just a bit overkill?"

Laxus scowled and kicked the nearest unconscious bandit in the leg, "No. Not really. Jerks messed up my headphones. I didn't get you did I?"

Mest kept flexing his fingers, "A little bit, but nothing I haven't faced in training." Giving his hands one last shake, Mest turned concerned eyes to Rihanna, running across the short distance between them to crouch down, "Wren-chan, are you okay?"

Rihanna gingerly rubbed her neck, wincing faintly at the loud protests the tender skin gave to the touch. _Still, I'm alive. That's got to count for something._ Mest, having spotted her wince, started to reach for her, "I'll get you to a hospital, we shouldn't be more than a few teleports from the nearest city-"

Bickslow pulled Rihanna closer to him and away from Mest's reaching hands, "Don't touch her!"

Mest pulled back, startled, "Bickslow-kun?"

Rihanna shifted a bit, trying to get a look at Bickslow's face, but his grip was too tight. Despite being unable to see him, Rihanna was fairly certain she could feel Bickslow's shoulders shaking slightly as he hissed, "You aren't taking her away. She's not going anywhere without me, got that? She- she's-" The shaking got worse and Bickslow buried his face in her hair, his shaking shoulders turning into hiccups and an unmistakable dampness in her hair.

 _Oh, Bickslow…_ Rihanna swallowed at the lump in her throat, ignoring the discomfort the move caused as she gently grabbed Bickslow's arms and squeezed. The enormity of what had almost happened suddenly slammed down on her, _I almost died. I … I almost_ ** _died_** _. I was almost_ ** _strangled to death_** _… oh … oh Pantherlilies…_

Her breathing reverted to gasps as her own shoulders started to shake, memories thick fingers closing around her throat while the world was mute and her sight started to go black mingling with memories from years ago. Memories of shock and pain, of steel sliding over her throat and coppery liquid filling her airways as she just laid on the floor with peoples' screams in her ears and assumed she was going to die.

Except she hadn't. She'd woken up in Earthland and gained Bickslow as a brother and joined Fairy Tail only to almost die **again** at the hands of some no-name bandit with weird magic. Her vision blurred as tears threatened to rise and Mest flailed helplessly in a way that would have been comical in any other situation, "Wait, no! Don't cry! It's okay now! You're okay! Oh man, I knew we should've gone for backup instead of tried this…"

Bickslow gave a low sob against Rihanna's head, unintentionally snapping her out of her budding panic attack. _Bickslow needs me. He needs me to stay calm and calm him down. I don't have time to freak out right now. I can do that later when we aren't in the woods with unconscious criminals lying everywhere._ Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly and blinked back her tears, squeezing Bickslow's arms a little tighter to reassure him that she was still there.

"I'm sorry…" Bickslow's voice hitched faintly as he whispered the words into her curls, "I'm sorry. I wasn't fast enough. I couldn't get to you in time. If they hadn't shown up… I'm sorry…" _It's okay. It'll be okay now. I'm alive and that's what counts._

She hissed softly through her teeth, shushing Bickslow as best she could from her current position. Mest had stopped flailing and was watching them now with a guilty look. Rihanna blinked at him once and then let go of Bickslow with one hand long enough to point at Conrad, who was looking distinctly lost and worried. She skewered Mest with a pointed look and dawning comprehension flickered through his eyes before he turned to check on Conrad.

Rihanna briefly closed her eyes, drinking in Bickslow's presence and waiting for him to get his tears under control. She wasn't sure how long it took, but as the minutes rolled by, Bickslow eventually stopped whispering tearful apologies and simply fell silent, clutching to Rihanna as if she was his only lifeline. Rihanna made no protest or attempt to interact with anyone else. She simply sat there and absorbed the comfort of being hugged by someone who cared for her, of being held by her little brother.

Footsteps approaching made Rihanna open her eyes again and she sensed Bickslow raising his head. Laxus crouched down a little ways from them, a thoughtful look in his eyes, "Hey." Rihanna nodded faintly at him, carefully suppressing any surprise she felt at how gently he was speaking. _I thought he was an arrogant jerk before the Fantasia arc? Then again, he was a really sweet boy as a child. So is this before … whatever happened to make him so bitter? He's missing his facial scar too._

Completely unaware of her thoughts, Laxus kept talking, "You two are new to the guild, right? What're your names?"

Bickslow spoke for them, his voice shaky and rough from crying, "I'm B-bickslow and t-this is my little sister Wren. Who're you?"

Laxus gave Bickslow a lopsided smile as he thumbed at himself, "Who, me? I'm Laxus. Laxus Dreyar." His face went serious again, "So, look Bickslow-kun, I know you're shaken up after that guy … after the fight, but you should really let Mest take your sister to a hospital now to get checked out. Those bruises probably hurt and the doctors can give your sister something to make her feel better."

Bickslow's arms tightened around her to the point where her ribs hurt a bit, "I was too slow…"

Laxus cocked his head to one side at Bickslow's whisper, "Hmm?"

Bickslow shook his head and, very reluctantly, relinquished his grip on Rihanna's waist. Standing up, Bickslow quickly took one of Rihanna's hands in his, quite plainly not ready to forgo physical contact just yet. In all honesty, Rihanna wasn't ready either. She wanted nothing more than to find a nice, private place to freak out over nearly dying. For possibly the second time. _Did I die the time I ended up in this world? I don't think so, but still. If nothing else, my previous encounter with Ulrich has to count as a near-death experience._

Looking around, Rihanna realized that in the time Bickslow had been crying, someone had tied up all of the still-unconscious bandits. _Probably Laxus and Mest. Speaking of Mest…_ Turning her gaze to the slowly approaching Mest, Rihanna tilted her head and started to whistle. The low sound caught Mest's attention and he turned away immediately from speaking to a frantic-looking Conrad, his own expression greatly concerned, "Wren-chan, I don't think you should whistle, you might strain something…" Rihanna scowled and pointed at Conrad, whistling again with emphasis and gesturing a few times.

There was a pause before Bickslow finally translated, his own curiosity bleeding through as well, "What happened to everyone? Are Orazio-kun and the others alright?"

Mest blinked once, then his face eased slightly, "Yes. They're fine, a little banged up, but they'll live."

Rihanna started to formulate another question when Laxus interrupted, "How about Mest tells you all about it **after** we get out of here and get the three of you to a hospital. Some of those cuts look nasty." Rihanna blinked once, looking over at Bickslow and inspecting him sharply. She hissed faintly in worry at the cuts she could now see lining his arms and streaking across his cheeks. _How did I miss_ ** _those_** _?_

Bickslow, hearing her hiss, just held her hand more tightly, "I'm fine, _Imōto_ , really. They're just scratches." _Scratches my foot! Who knows what germs were on that wood! You may even have splinters!_

Unable to voice any of those thoughts without whistling and exaggerated hand gestures, Rihanna settled for squeezing his hand back and finally letting Mest teleport them out of the area.

* * *

Laxus tapped his fingers idly against one arm, mentally brooding over his ruined headphones. During the fight, an idiot with a **club** of all things had managed to give him a glancing blow to the head. It had hurt, but not enough to stop him. However, it had managed to break the plastic headband part of the music-projecting devices, ensuring the need for a replacement. Again.

He sighed faintly, _I really need to get ones that don't have a headband. They would be so much harder to break if they were just cord and audio pieces._ But of course, that kind were really, really expensive and Laxus had other concerns and expenses to pay aside from his music-playing devices. A slight noise that wasn't Mest or the slightly screechy boarding school headmaster drew Laxus's attention away from his thoughts and he looked over at the bench where the two kids Mest had been working with were seated.

He blinked once in surprise upon realizing that the youngest, Wren if he remembered correctly, had actually fallen asleep. She was leaning against Bickslow, her face screwed up slightly in discomfort despite the painkillers and bandages they'd gotten from the hospital earlier. _Huh, the doc wasn't kidding when he said the medicine would make her drowsy. I didn't think anyone could sleep through that headmaster's voice. Sound's like fingernails on a chalkboard._

He flicked his gaze away from Wren-chan to study the boy, Bickslow-kun. Red eyes stared back at him, something tense and … vulnerable flickering through them behind a blank expression. Combined with the boy's facial tattoo, and it was rather unnerving. Shifting a bit, Laxus broke the silence between them, "You should probably get some sleep too, you know. That medication you were given won't make you feel any better if you don't get enough re-"

"I owe you." The words, pained and tight yet stubborn and sure as saying that the sun was bright or the sky was blue, brought Laxus up short.

He blinked once, "Excuse me?"

Bickslow pressed his lips together into a thin, near-bloodless line, "I said … I said that I owe you. You … if you hadn't shown up, my little sister would have **died**. I wasn't … I'm not strong enough to keep her safe. So … I owe you."

Laxus felt his brow furrow slightly, the boy sounded as if the words he was speaking physically pained him, like he was admitting some dark secret Laxus could use to destroy him. Shrugging a bit, Laxus tried to ease the tension, "It's no problem, really. You two are members of Fairy Tail, rookie members at that, so of course I'll help you out. Besides, if I hadn't stumbled across Mest in that base, I wouldn't have even been there."

Bickslow didn't appear ready to let the matter go, "But you **were**. So I **owe you**."

Something about the emphasis on the words made Laxus uneasy, "Seriously, you don't-"

Bickslow's shrill yell startled Mest and the headmaster briefly out of their discussion, "Oh, just state your price already! Tell me what I have to do to make it up to you!"

Mest started toward Bickslow, a sad yet knowing expression on his face, "Bickslow-kun, that's not how our guild works. We help each other because we're all members of Fairy Tail, no member owes any other member for anything." Bickslow's face was scrunching up into an unpleasant scowl, his shoulders tensing the more Mest spoke and tried to convince him that he didn't owe Laxus anything.

Laxus narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, then widened them slightly as realization hit him, _he doesn't want to not owe me. He wants to make up somehow for the fact that a stranger had to save his little sister because he couldn't. This isn't about me, this is about making up for failing her, isn't it?_ Laxus couldn't fully understand the reasoning, but he was sure that that was Bickslow's motive. He **needed** to owe Laxus, he needed to show that he actually did care about his sister, that he hadn't failed to protect her because of negligence. Or something like that.

Laxus interrupted Mest's gentle yet unneeded explanations, "Mest. Go back to what you were doing."

Mest shot a doubtful look at him, "Laxus, are you sure? No offense, but you're not the … most amiable of people and Bickslow-kun's had a really hard day-"

Laxus scowled, "I don't need to be 'amiable' to deal with this problem. I can handle this."

Mest glanced from Bickslow to Laxus and back, "Are you sure-?"

Laxus tapped his fingers against his bicep as he intoned flatly, "Which one of us is the one who took on a **dark guild** thinking they were just measly bandits and then needed backup?"

Mest scowled defensively, "I had no way of knowing-! I could have handled those guards!"

Laxus tilted his head back blandly, "And I finished off their **leader**. Which led us to this problem. I started this, I finish it. So go back to arguing with the headmaster dude over … whatever it was you were arguing about."

Mest clenched his jaw a little, clearly unwilling to leave the conversation up to Laxus's sometimes less-than-polite mannerisms, but eventually nodded and walked back over to the scowling headmaster to resume their argument. Laxus shifted his gaze back to Bickslow, studying the stubborn set in the fellow boy's jaw and his tightly clenched fists, "You have an eye magic."

Bickslow flinched subtly, "H-how'd you know?"

Laxus motioned with casual fingers toward his forehead, "Your tattoo. My dad made me study all sorts of magic symbols and seals from other countries. That one means 'demon-child'." The look he got for stating that could have killed, but he kept talking, "Now, since I don't see a tail, wings, fangs, claws, or other generally demonic features, that means the reason for the tattoo has to be your eyes."

Bickslow nodded once, a curt, stiff motion that looked almost painful and Laxus persisted, "What can you do?"

Bickslow's jaw tightened, "What does this have to do with your price?"

Laxus sighed impatiently, "I'm getting to that. But first, what does you're eye magic do?"

There was a long, tense silence between them before Bickslow slumped and whispered, "I can see souls. People's emotional states, indications of their past, what kind of people they are, if they're lying or not, that stuff. And … and if I look them in the eye, I can make them … I can control them. Like I do my tikis."

Laxus mentally chewed on that information before nodding, "Cool. So, here's what you're going to do-"

Bickslow interrupted with an incredulous hiss, "That's it? **Cool**? That's all you have to say about my eye magic? Just … just 'cool'? Aren't you scared? Or … or…" his voice trailed off, at a complete loss for words.

Laxus raised an eyebrow, "Why would I be scared? I know I can kick your butt in a fight, eye magic or no, and no matter what that tattoo on your face says, you're just a kid like me. Actually, you're probably younger than me, which really lowers the potential fear factor. Plus, Jiji let you join the guild, and he's really good at reading people's characters and stuff. So yeah, just 'cool'."

Laxus was fairly certain that if Bickslow hadn't had his little sister using him as a support and pillow, he would have fallen off of his seat in shock. _This kid's led one messed up life so far, hasn't he? Sheesh._ "So, anyway, I assume you know about the training grounds Fairy Tail has out back, right? Well, from now on and until I say otherwise, you're going to be out in Training Area Seven at … let's see, you're probably still going to a normal school so that means … five thirty? Yeah, you're going to be out in Training Area Seven at five thirty AM every morning. Don't be late and don't eat breakfast beforehand otherwise you **will** throw up. Got that?"

Bickslow's response was a slow, uncomprehending blink and a one word question dragged out to the point of being two syllables long, "Why…?"

Laxus leveled a hard stare at Bickslow, doing his best to imitate the glower his father had given him when he'd asked a similar question several years ago, "One, because you said you owe me, so that means you have to do what I say. Two, because Fairy Tail doesn't need members who can't pull their weight. You want to repay your debt? Then you need to get stronger so that I never have to save you or your sister again. And in order for you to **get** to that level of strength, you're going to be training with me until I say otherwise. We'll figure out some exercises for your eye magic as well, can't let something that useful go to waste."

Bickslow was staring at him as if Laxus had grown an extra head and started arguing with it, his mouth flopping open and shut uselessly. Laxus tilted his head toward Bickslow, still leveling his sternest look at the other boy, "You got that?"

Bickslow's mouth snapped shut with a click, "Uh … hmm." Taking the vaguely helpless grunts as an affirmative, Laxus pushed away from the wall he'd been leaning against and stalked off to check on Mest's progress. He could technically just go home now, but it was a long walk back to Magnolia and he'd rather wait until Mest could just teleport him back.

As he strode over to where Mest was talking reassuringly to two boys, Mest's clients if Laxus wasn't wrong, he got the sudden and distinct impression that he'd just done something big. For a moment, he felt like something important had just happened or changed … but he just didn't know what.

Laxus shook the feeling off with a faint shrug, _I must be tired or something. It's no big deal. I'm just going to be helping out a new guild member and making sure he won't bring shame on Fairy Tail's name. Right?_


	13. Chapter 12: Training and Cobalt Colors

**(Crawls back onto Fanfiction) I liiive! Lucky for you guys, so does my laptop!**

 **Review Response: Dear Guest, hi! Glad you liked softy Laxus, I was afraid people would think he was too nice. Though, this is before his "fall to the dark side" so to speak... Hope you enjoy the next chapter and thank you, as you can see/read, my computer repairs went well.**

 **Dear Hazel tree09, hello there! Correct guess! Laxus is now an official part of the cast, to get used to seeing him around. Very glad you enjoyed the chapter and that the reactions were realistic. Be prepared for OverProtective!Bickslow in the future though, because I'm pretty sure the last chapter left a mental mark on the poor kid. (Rubs hands) I have plans for Laxus and Co ... plans ... (trails off cackling faintly about Fairy Tail luck).**

 **Dear Sakura-hime99, greetings! Thank you, I did my best! Eh ... not quite. The real birth of the Raijinshū is the chapter after this one actually. Last chapter was just their first meeting. As for if Wren is going to be an official member ... you'll have to wait and see! It won't take too long to find out though, so just have patience please! You're welcome, I hope this update lives up to expectations as well!**

 **Dear BizzyLizzy, hey there! Close, but not quite yet. That was their first official meeting, we just need one or two more catalysts for the Raijinshū to form. I was kinda frustrated when I was first researching the Raijinshū because that side note about Freed being asked to keep an eye on Laxus is pretty much the only backstory the three eye-magic users get. Oh well, more creative liberty for me, I guess. It would have been nice to know what year the joined though. Glad you tried out and enjoyed my story! Using colors to describe souls is fun, and was also what made the most sense to me. It's kinda based off of how anime uses color 'auras' to show a power-up, rage, etc. If you do post an OC/Bickslow story, let me know when you do please, Bickslow doesn't get enough love in my opinion.**

 **Dear Wandering Mage011, hi! Glad to hear it! I wouldn't mind having Conrad and Orazio show up again, but it isn't really in my plans so far. We'll have to wait and see, I guess. I was actually puzzled as to how/when he got it after noticing it was absent during the Fantasia flashback with him as a little kid. The first time it shows up is when he's a teenager of about 15/16 years old. But, as no explanation as been given in the anime, I have since made plans for Laxus's scar (rubs hands eagerly). Male anime characters do tend to bond over pounding each other to a pulp, don't they? Always wondered why how that worked but, eh, I won't question it too deeply. I think Laxus would like Wren because she's so quiet and practical, not whiny, pushy, or hyper. I agree, words are powerful things, especially when directed at an impressionable child.**

 **Dear YumiKnowsBest, greetings! Glad to hear it! As for the length, just give me another year or so and this will probably be 50+ chapters like my transformers story.**

 **Author's Note:** **First off, sorry for the delay, on top of my computer part taking a vacation to Guam (!?) and thus being way late, Real Life has had me in pretty tight grip. But, I am finally here, hoping to put my posting schedule back together. Also, for anyone who also reads my Transformers story and is waiting for an update: I'm working on it. I've almost got the one-shot I was working on before the whole cable-debacle finished and I'm about a third of the through the next chapter. Just be patient please. Random side note, I have discovered a theme for Wren and Bickslow's relationship, possibly even Wren's relationship with Laxus and the Fairy Tail guild as a whole. It's called Lean On by ... Dj Snake & Major Lazer, I think. I don't see the song as romantic in any way and the genre isn't usually my style, but the lyrics remind me of Wren and Bickslow as they grow up for some reason. Just wanted to throw that out there if anyone want's to listen to it. I ... think that's everything. On to the chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve - Training and Cobalt Colors.**

 **(Two Weeks Later)**

 **(One month, one week, six days since joining Guild)**

Bickslow hit the ground with a thud and a whoosh of air for the tenth time in half as many minutes. Above him, his opponent sighed in exasperation and asked yet again, "You've really never had a straight fight before in your life, have you?"

Bickslow lifted his head off of the ground and squinted at his opponent-tormentor-trainer, "No, not really, … why?"

Laxus ran a hand through his hair, "Nothing really, it just … shows. Very obviously."

Bickslow crawled to his feet reluctantly, knowing that the moment he had regained his balance, the torture would start all over again, "Yeah well, I've always been more concerned with surviving than fighting and then later I had to take care of Wren too. If I'd gotten into any fights, she would have been right in the middle of it all." _Like she was two weeks ago,_ he added mentally with a shudder.

Laxus gave a hum of acknowledgement before sliding into a ready stance again, "Point. But that isn't going to work anymore. Fairy Tail has a reputation for getting into fights for a reason. If you want to protect your sister, you've **got** to learn to fight better than this."

A low hiss interrupted their conversation, making both boys look over to the edge of their training area. Wren glowered at the two of them from where she was performing control exercises with her shadows, her expression needing no whistles or hand-signals to further elaborate, _"I don't_ ** _need_** _protecting. I can take care of myself."_

Bickslow glowered right back, "No, you do, _Imōto_ , and it's my job to do that."

Wren huffed faintly and turned back to her shadows, knowing that an argument would be pointless and would probably be punished by a mildly-sadistic, pushup-happy Laxus.

After they'd returned to the guild following the near-disaster of a mission with Mest, they'd finally gotten a full explanation for what went wrong and how Laxus had become involved in the entire thing.

Apparently, the bandits Spellmeyer-san had been afraid would kidnap his sons were not actually bandits at all, but were a dark guild so down on their luck they'd resorted to petty thievery and kidnapping.

The leader of the dark guild, Ulrich Ackermann, used a special variation of Sound Magic nicknamed Mute that rendered anyone in the nearby area who didn't bear his guild mark unable to hear anything. He was also able to use sound pulses to enhance his punches, which was how he had killed the bandit Bickslow had sent charging at him.

Laxus had accepted a mission to find and capture Ulrich a week before the ill-fated escort mission and had finally tracked down the location of Ulrich's base that day. He had met Mest inside the base, fighting off some dark mages who hadn't gone chasing Bickslow, Wren, and Conrad out in the woods. Laxus had stepped in and held them off so that Mest could teleport the hostages to safety, after which Mest had asked for help finding the wayward kids and getting them away from Ulrich and his mages.

They had followed the flashes of Conrad's firecrackers and Bickslow's lasers, arriving just in time for Laxus to save Wren with a carefully controlled burst of lightning. Once the fight had finished, Mest had teleported them all to where Orazio and the others were and then from there, to their destination.

Which personally made Bickslow wonder why he hadn't just done that in the first place, but apparently Mest couldn't teleport that many people **and** all of their luggage without passing out. Or something to that order.

Either way, with Laxus's help, they managed to complete their mission and deliver Conrad and Orazio to the boarding school a little banged up, but still alive. Mest had even managed to convince the headmaster to let Conrad study magic in his free time without reporting to the boy's father about it.

Safely back in Magnolia with instructions on how to care for their bruises and the job finally behind them, Bickslow had dutifully started showing up at Training Area Seven every morning at five-thirty sharp for Laxus's training. A few days after that, Wren had followed Bickslow to see where he'd been disappearing to every morning and Laxus had cheerfully inducted her into his training program, which he claimed was a toned-down version of the one his father had given to him at Wren's age.

Two weeks in and Bickslow could safely say that Laxus's father was both a madman and a sadist and that he hoped he never had to actually meet the guy. Because if Laxus's version was "toned-down" because of "their inexperience with this stuff", then Bickslow shuddered to think of what kind of torture the full version entailed.

Bickslow had no idea that his body could be sore in so many places at the same time, and that was counting his experience on the streets and propensity to perform wild acrobatics on high rooftops. The single hour of morning training with Laxus involved more pushups, sit-ups, squats, and sprinting laps than Bickslow thought was possible to cram into a mere sixty minutes. That wasn't even counting the annual sparring matches. Or Laxus's version of encouragement for when he was doing his exercises too slowly. Or, Laxus's personal favorite, magic **dodgeball** practice.

"Oi, done daydreaming yet? We don't have all day, you know." Bickslow pulled himself out of his memories and reluctantly slid into a fighting stance again. Laxus checked his form over and nodded shortly, "Okay. Yo, Wren-chan, call the match!"

From the side, Wren obliged Laxus by whistling sharply. Bickslow barely had time to register the whistle before Laxus was coming at him, right fist already lashing out at Bickslow's jaw. Bickslow frantically sidestepped to his left, one hand whipping out to slap Laxus's fist away from his head. Almost instinctively, Bickslow stuck his left foot out as he dodged, catching Laxus's right foot and temporarily ruining the other boy's balance.

Laxus stumbled a step before using his forward momentum to duck and roll under Bickslow punch from behind. Coming out of his roll, Laxus twisted around just in time to block Bickslow's attempted axe-kick. Bickslow barely had time to spot Laxus's smirk before a hand a firmly latched onto his ankle and Laxus pushed, sending him flailing onto his back with a loud curse. Laxus lunged to straddle him but Bickslow curled his free leg up to his chest and kicked, pushing Laxus away and forcing him to release Bickslow's captured ankle with a grunt.

Rolling to his feet, Bickslow backflipped several times to gain distance, coming out of the flips with protesting shoulder muscles and a heaving chest. Laxus watched him from a few yards away, a calculating gleam in his eye, "You still aren't using Figure Eyes." Bickslow bit his lip to keep from snapping a curse at Laxus for bringing it up.

The lightning user had, after learning that Bickslow had never named his eye magic, dubbed them Figure Eyes after the tattoo on Bickslow's forehead. Bickslow still wasn't sure if he should be grateful Laxus was so nonchalant about his eyes and tattoo, or curse him for repeatedly insisting he practice with his eye magic. So far, Bickslow had managed to refuse and not use his "Figure Eyes" at all, but something steely in Laxus's tone made Bickslow believe that Laxus wasn't going to let it go so easily this time.

Gritting his teeth and bracing for an argument, Bickslow deflected curtly, "You said no magic during sparring until I knew how to fight without it."

Laxus tilted his head to one side almost lazily, nowhere near as tired as Bickslow from the spar and instead looking oddly stubborn, "I meant your tiki dolls when I made that rule. Like I said before, you could probably learn to anticipate an opponents moves by reading their aura in a fight and that could be a real edge. But you need to **practice** with it to do that."

Bickslow shook his head stubbornly, scrambling for an excuse that wouldn't just make Laxus push the subject harder, "But you aren't using magic at all! It wouldn't be fair to abuse my magic like that when you're stuck with just your fists! Besides, I might look you in the eyes by accident, or-"

A snap of static electricity filled the air and Laxus was suddenly in front of Bickslow again, glowing yellow leg arcing for his side. The blow connected and Bickslow went rolling, his nerves jittering and spasming briefly at the electric current that had just whipped through them.

As he rolled to a stop, Laxus called harshly across to him, " **Fine**. If that's what it takes to make you practice with them, then I'll use magic. Just close contact blows though, I won't use my long range attacks. But you know," Bickslow's eyes went wide and he rolled out of the way of the electrified axe-kick that slammed into the ground where his middle used to be, "I'm a **lot** faster when I'm using Lightning Magic."

Bickslow scrambled back to his feet despite the protests of his ribs and leg muscles and whirled to face Laxus. The blond had a disturbingly predatory smile on his face that made Bickslow want to run and hide rather than stand and fight, "So if you don't want to have to go to Enno-san for more bruise ointment, I suggest you use those eyes of yours."

Several inappropriate words Bickslow had heard on the streets flashed through his mind as Laxus lunged for him again, his fist coated with lightning as he aimed for Bickslow's midriff. Sidestepping out of the way and barely avoiding the spinning kick that was Laxus's retaliation for dodging, he frantically pushed power into his eyes.

Emotional fire leapt into the air, nearly stunning Bickslow with its intensity and brilliance despite having already seen it a few times before. Brilliant neon orange whirled a tight circle with vibrant aquamarine blue. Dispersed through those two main colors were fragments of other colors: the flashing, lightning-like snap of intelligence, the budding purple of growing wisdom, and many more all swimming through Laxus's two most obvious colors like minnows in a whirlpool.

Something vibrant, yet not emotion-based, spiked in Laxus's aura, so fast and sharp he almost missed its journey down Laxus's legs and up one arm. Realization struck Bickslow a split second later as he bent double to avoid Laxus's rebound and punch. The color he'd just seen was Laxus's **intent**. The fight kicked off again at greater speeds, with Laxus jumping to and fro, mocking Bickslow for not punching more often while Bickslow ducked and whirled around lightning-enhanced attacks, struggling to pick out Laxus's intent from the rest of his always moving aura.

Laxus's aura was like a whirling, multi-colored sun. It was brilliant, powerful, oddly addicting to look at, and so busy moving it was near impossible to pick out the little slivers of intent that forewarned of Laxus's next actions. It was a combination of colors that made Bickslow dizzy just watching and was always startling to see no matter how much he studied it.

But while the tightly whirling dance of Laxus's emotions, thoughts, and flickering intent were impressive, it was their core that truly glowed, truly drew Bickslow's attention no matter hard he tried to concentrate on something else.

All of Laxus's other colors orbited the core, almost burying the core's colors unless Bickslow looked between the cracks and momentary gaps to see the pulsing, seemingly unshakable core of mysterious forest green mixed irreversibly with the richly dark color of pride. Those two colors, one still unnamed yet purely good in Bickslow's mind and the other he'd always previously associated with harsh words and cruelty, twisted and rippled around each other, tumbling end over end in a never-ending cycle, merging and weaving until it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

It spoke to Bickslow somehow, those core colors. Baffling him yet never scaring him. He knew that it meant Laxus was deeply proud of something. So proud that the color had worked its way into his very core, into the deepest parts of his heart and mind, unshakable and permanent. Yet, Bickslow couldn't tell what Laxus was proud of. He suspected it was the partner color to Laxus's pride. That whatever that color represented, whatever emotion it was, Laxus was **proud** to feel it, proud to hold that emotion in the very center of his heart.

All in all, it made picking out Laxus's intent in time to dodge even more grueling than any of the previous, non-magical spars had been.

Around and around the two danced through the clearing, kicking, punching, dodging, and, on Laxus's part, laughing. Everything outside of their fight was rapidly forgotten as Laxus charged, jumped and attacked while Bickslow twisted, dodged, and occasionally lashed out in a desperate counterattack.

He was so busy sparring, so busy learning to pick out Laxus's intentions from the myriad of other colors and impressions that Bickslow forgot to be wary of his power, wary of the eyes that let him see Laxus's whirlpool aura.

Then Laxus managed to tackle him and their eyes locked.

Bickslow felt his breath freeze in his lungs as Laxus's colors suddenly froze, Laxus's muscles locking up at the exact same time as his aura. Several seconds of horror passed in which Bickslow could only stare at the sudden lack of motion, the colors of life abruptly becoming as flat and immobile as an ordinary painting, helpless and moldable to his whims. Then realization struck him and Bickslow snapped his eyes shut with a gasping curse. Air rushed in and out of his lungs harshly as he cut the thread of control that had formed between them, struggling not to dry heave at the sheer level of self-revulsion he felt.

Laxus went slack, barely rolling to the side so that he wasn't sprawled on top of Bickslow as his harsh panting joined Bickslow's. A thousand thoughts spun through Bickslow's mind, all of them a mixture of apologies, I-told-you-so's, and self-rebukes.

Small hands shook his shoulder, a shrill whistle of concern identifying the owner of the hands as Wren, but Bickslow refused to open his eyes or get up. He just lay there and tried to ignore the stinging behind his eyelids as he waited for Laxus to recover from the eye contact and the words of hatred to start. Beside him, Laxus's breathing slowly evened out and his clothes rustled faintly in motion. Several moments later, another hand, larger than Wren's and from the opposite side, shook his shoulder with shocking gentleness, "Oi … You okay? Yo, Bickslow, you … you can hear me right?"

Bickslow swallowed hard, still not daring to open his eyes as he nodded weakly. He expected Laxus to remove his hand and start yelling, but instead, the hand stayed and Laxus continued to speak softly, if a touch breathlessly, "Oi, open your eyes or something. You didn't damage them did you? Was there a power rebound when you let me go?"

Astonishment had Bickslow opening his eyes and glancing incredulously at Laxus before hastily redirecting his gaze to the sky instead, "…What?"

Wren's face loomed into his vision and Bickslow flinched slightly at her eye contact despite knowing that his eye magic was once again dormant. She studied his face intently before forcibly pulling him into a semi-sitting position and hugging him tightly. Bickslow automatically returned the hug with one arm, his other pressing against the ground for balance while Laxus's concerned voice buzzed in his ears, "Oi! **Talk** to me, Bickslow!" Laxus's voice was sharp with command, but not, bafflingly, anger. If anything, he sounded … worried. _About me? After what I just did? That … that can't be right._

Wetting suddenly dry lips, Bickslow whispered shakily, "You … you aren't … mad?" _Hateful? You aren't scared of me now? You aren't going to attack me for what I just did? What I can do?_

There was pause, a falter in Laxus's demands before he spoke again, a thick incredulity coloring his words, "Mad? Mad? I'm asking if you're hurt, _baka_! Of course I'm not mad!"

Bickslow swallowed hard and risked another glance at Laxus's face, his gaze lingering briefly when he realized that Laxus didn't look angry. If anything, he looked just as worried as he sounded. Laxus's brows furrowed as he stared back at Bickslow, "Maybe I should go get Jiji. Or Reika, she's good with herbs and stuff and it will take a while to get Porlyusica-san here from her forest-" Rocking back on his heels, Laxus made to stand up only to lose his balance and flop back down with a grunt.

Laxus pressed a hand against his head with a wince and Bickslow flinched apologetically, words spilling out of his mouth without his consent, "You probably shouldn't try moving very much or too fast for a few minutes. Um … loss of muscle control is a side-effect from … 'that'. I … I think it'll pass in a little bit."

Laxus slowly lowered his hand and stared at Bickslow, tilting his head to stay in Bickslow's line of sight when the blue-haired boy tried to avert his gaze, "So. You aren't hurt?"

Bickslow clenched his hands into fists, "Why do you keep asking that? I'm the one who … who took control of you! I should be the one asking you if you're alright!" He shot Laxus a tense look, ignoring Wren's shushing noises for the moment as he almost begged for an answer, "Why are you asking if I'm okay? Don't you hate me now? Fear me? Think my tattoo is appropriate after all? **Why**?"

"Because it was my fault." The world froze. Five little words. Five little words was all it took to make Bickslow's world temporarily stop spinning. There was no sarcasm in those words, no reproach, no double meanings, no hidden barbs. They were just five little words being stated as fact, said with the same level of confidence as someone claiming that the sun rose in the morning and that grass was green.

Five little words that he never thought he would ever hear. Not directed toward him, not about something like this, and not from anyone other than his mute, far-too-forgiving little sister. Bickslow stared at Laxus, his mouth opening and shutting helplessly as he struggled to remember how to speak in the aftershocks of those world-stopping words. Finally, when coherent sentences remained unaccessible, he settled for making a questioning noise in the back of his throat and staring in wide-eyed bafflement at Laxus.

The other boy heard his wordless question and rubbed his head with a, dare Bickslow think it, guilty expression, "I'm the one who forced you to use Figure Eyes during our spar when I didn't fully understand how it worked. That was reckless … and stupid. I should realized that something like this would happen and you **did** try repeatedly to warn me against it. So, this is all my fault." He suddenly groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, "I'm going to be in so much trouble if _Jiji_ and _Otō-san_ find out about this. Seriously. I'll be banned from missions for **life** … and probably get lectured for the next week too. Or worse."

Bickslow listened to Laxus ramble to himself about the horrible things Makarov-jiji and Laxus's father would probably do to him if they found out about what had just happened and tried to figure out what the feeling growing in his chest was. Helplessly, he looked down at his lap, wishing despite his recent mess-up that his powers worked on himself. He really, really wanted to see what the color of his newest feeling was. It was probably a strong color by the feel of it. Something dark, like the green color Wren gave him so often, but not as dark as the color of pride.

Slowly, Bickslow raised his free hand and pressed it over his chest, idly hugging Wren closer as she continued to watch him in concern. Inwardly, he focused on the feeling tentatively filling him, so vibrant, yet somehow still delicate because of how new it was. Fingers snapping in front of his face made Bickslow snap out of his dazed contemplation. Laxus lowered his fingers and cocked his head at Bickslow, "Well?"

Bickslow blinked, still half-disbelieving that they were having a conversation at all after Laxus had been on the receiving end of his eye magic, "S-sorry, what did you say?"

Laxus made to stand up again and this time was successful. Shoving one hand in his pocket, Laxus offered the other one to Bickslow, "I said, that since it's a Saturday and you don't have school, we could go down to Fairy Tail's library and look for books about eye magic. I probably should've done that earlier, honestly, but I didn't expect eye magic to be quite so … strong and different from regular magic. Anyhow, there's bound to be something about eye magic and how to safely train it in there and we should probably end the training session for the day anyway. Our hour's almost up as it is."

Bickslow stared at the hand as if he'd never seen one before, several long seconds crawling past before he finally worked up the nerve to grasp it. Wren reluctantly let go of Bickslow as Laxus pulled him to his feet. The blond boy raised an eyebrow and repeated his previous question, "Well?"

Bickslow swallowed at the lump in the throat before answering, "I'd … I'd like that. You really think they'll have books about that kind of thing? About eye magic?"

Laxus grinned briefly, "Please. Jiji collects books on **everything** , of course there'll be something down there about eye magic! Oh, and hey, let's not mention my pressuring you into using Figure Eyes during a spar to anyone else, ne? I can't exactly train you and Wren-chan if I'm busy getting lectured to death."

Numbly, Bickslow nodded, his feet trailing automatically after Laxus as the other boy led the way back to the guild building. A hand gently slipped into his and he looked down at Wren in confusion, " _Imōto_?" He whispered faintly, "What just happened?" Wren simply smiled at him knowingly, her eyes holding a depth that startled him every time before she turned her gaze ahead to the guild building, her feet managing to skip despite being no doubt tired from all her training.

Bickslow turned his gaze forward as well, but instead of staring at the guild building, found himself staring at Laxus's back. The feeling in his chest was stronger, brighter, so much so that for a moment, Bickslow was sure he knew what it's color would be despite being unable to see it. It would be blue. A rich, cobalt blue that increased in strength and power the more he thought about what Laxus had just done.

Laxus had done something no other person save Wren had done, and she had an eye magic too and thus didn't really count. It was one thing to overlook Bickslow's tattoo and his explanation about his powers like the guild had done. It was one thing to see his powers in action and still look at him without fear him as Mest had done. It was another thing entirely to feel his power, to make eye contact and have their colors brought under Bickslow's control however briefly … and come out of it **concerned** for **Bickslow**. Afraid, not of him, but for him. To ask if he wanted help with his powers.

What the guild had done and what Mest had done were wonderful, astounding things. But compared to what Laxus, calm, slightly gruff and eye magic-less Laxus had done … there was simply no comparison. Suddenly, and with a clarity that was startling, Bickslow knew what his new cobalt feeling was.

It was loyalty.

Laxus might not know it, certainly didn't realize it, and absolutely hadn't done anything to gain it on purpose. But that day, with that simple gesture, that easy acceptance, that sincere offer to help, he had earned Bickslow's loyalty. Bickslow felt a smile work its way onto his lips as he followed Laxus into an unfamiliar part of the guild building, barely hearing the greetings called by other guild members as he contemplated the boy who had just earned his loyalty above any others in the guild.

Bickslow was so absorbed with his new discovery and thoughts that he failed to notice the thoughtful look on Wren's face as she watched him. Had he seen it, had he checked her colors in that moment with Figure Eyes, he might have seen the way her eyes swept away from him and to Laxus, a new color blooming and weaving into her aura like the trickling birth of what would someday be a roaring river.

The color of cobalt for the boy who had made her brother honestly, truly smile.

* * *

 **Japanese Translation: Otō-san - father, either someone** **else's, or in this case, one's own father with respect in mind.**


	14. Chapter 13: Birth of the Raijinshū

**Hello all! I return! Would have posted earlier, but my schedule is** **still up in the air and editing takes forever... Anyway! Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **Review Response: Dear Hazel tree09, hi! My computer is well rested, if as temperamental as ever, thank you for asking/joking. I fell kind of sorry for them too ... when I'm not having so much fun writing their shenanigans. Your hug has been passed on, where it was met by confusion, blushing, and a mumbled thank you. As for Laxus's aura, thanks! I tried my best to represent him. He's such a strong character. You're welcome and hope you enjoy the latest one!**

 **Dear BizzyLizzy, hey there! Cool, I'll be waiting to read it even if it isn't an OCxBickslow story. (Blushes) Oh ... yeah ... my bad. I meant periodic, but my brain told me to put down annual for some reason (shuffles feet slightly and mutters). Glad you like it, I've been having fun exploring the possibilities of Laxus and Bickslow having an epic ... what's the term? Bromance? Eh, anyway, a close-knit brotherly relationship that Freed wouldn't get because he's such a massive Laxus fanboy and Evergreen can't get because, well, she's Evergreen.**

 **Dear The Star In The Night, greetings! Right now, I'd say Bickslow is only half serious. Doesn't make him any less right though. It's mostly just dramatic irony, but trust me, there will be stuff going down when Ivan, Bickslow, and Wren all finally meet.**

 **Dear Guest, hello there! Me too, I don't think I could've afforded a new one at this point in time. (Claps hands enthusiastically) Yes! Laxus with a maniac grin was exactly the mental image I was going for! He is, isn't he? He could have totally been the main character of his own manga (briefly get's lost under swarm of daydream/plot bunnies spawned by own sentence). Ahem! Everyone really seems to like how I describe Bickslow's Figure Eyes abilities, which is cool, I was kinda worried when I first started. Thank you for your compliments and your patience, here is another chapter!**

 **Dear YumiKnowsBest, hello! (chuckles) Read this newest chapter and see!**

 **Dear RunFromTheMedic, greetings! (grins) I take it you are pleased with this development then?**

 **Author's Note: So! Here we are, the official birth of the Raijinshū! Hope you enjoy it, the chapter kinda ran away from me while I was writing it. Random question, how would you all feel if I started a one-shot collection, similar to my transformers Harmonies of a Second Chance, only for this story. It would only happen once this story is a little more established and more canon characters have shown up, but there are a few ideas rattling around in my head I think you guys would like that just don't fit the main flow of the story. I'll probably end up doing it eventually, but I thought I'd see what you guys thought of it. Finally, I think Wren's concern in this story is more than a little valid (you'll see what I mean later). I did some timeline checking while researching this story and realized that all of the chaos that went down in the first four seasons took place IN LESS THAN A YEAR. I mean, Lucy joins the guild on July 2nd X784, and Acnologia tries to blow up the island on December 16th X784. For all of those story arcs to fit, they would've had to take place within weeks or less of each other and yet at the opening of almost every arc we see Fairy Tail members just being ... chill. It would take a normal person months to calm down from even one of those arcs (just look at Lucy before Natsu passed on the infamous Fairy Luck), yet they're all calm and fine within DAYS. I'm not sure what's weirder, that so much can happen to them within just a few months or that they're all clearly inoculated to the chaos... With that in mind, onward! To the next chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail of any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen - Birth of the Raijinshū**

 **(One month, two weeks, three days since joining Guild)**

Gloria Maxwell was a thief. A good thief too, if not an incredibly famous one in legal circles yet. She was hired frequently by others, though she did prefer to steal only for herself and sell her earnings to various black-market brokers to cover her more extravagant expenses. It helped that the police force were hopelessly incompetent at tracking her down. They never once suspected that the thief ghosting into banks, rich businessperson's houses, and corporate buildings was in everyday life the average, if gorgeous, receptionist with oversized glasses who worked in Magnolia Town's massive, five floor public library.

Of course, one might ask why a librarian of all people was resorting to thievery in the first place. The answer to which would be that the average librarian's wage was nowhere near large enough to cover her living expenses as well as her addiction to gambling and nightclubs. Also, the more Gloria did it, the more she found that she adored the adrenaline high of successfully pulling off a heist.

She was hoping to get one of those highs by the end of the afternoon. It was a beautiful day, as was Fiore's springtime trademark, and the regular home of Aimé Favager, top female clothing designer of the famous Heart Kreuz company, was dreadfully empty of people. There was no one there to appreciate the valuables hidden inside, no one there to guard whatever money the famous designer might have lying around as pocket change.

Favager-san was off enjoying a day on the town with her fiancé, leaving no one but her pet dog to guard her house, which was a conveniently discreet hour's walk away from Magnolia itself. The dog was an extremely friendly, easygoing thing that had showed no hesitation in devouring the sleeping-pill-laced treat she'd offered it. It was currently snoring away on the porch, completely unaware of all the items Gloria was wrapping up and placing in her sack for … impromptu exportation.

Gloria could feel her giddiness rising as she padded through the house and toward the bedroom. Four rooms in and already her sack was half full with wonderfully expensive items to sell later.

The kitchen had contained silverware made out of genuine engraved silver. The living room had contained that wonderful five-hundred thousand jewel antique painting of the ocean at sunset. The study had held those lovely, lovely old tomes on ancient culture that Gloria would be gleefully keeping all to herself and the parlor had contained several beautiful antiques that at least three of her brokers would be willing to physically fight for if that's what it took to acquire them.

All in all, it was a wonderful haul, and she hadn't even gotten what she'd been hired to get yet. Finally reaching the bedroom-come-workshop, Gloria settled down to business, detouring only briefly to the jewelry box that seemed to be physically calling to her. After clearing out the jewelry box, she moved over to the workshop half of the room. Swiftly, she began unlocking and riffling through drawers and checking the papers littered all over the place.

 _They should still be here. According to her itinerary, her photo-shoot reveal isn't until next week and her home is the "safest" place to keep them. Especially after those idiots my employer hired before me messed up their getaway after breaking into the Heart Kreuz vault. Even if she was silly enough to put them back in the vault after that incident, the vault itself was broken and still needs to be replaced. So if I were her, I would- aha!_

Triumphantly, Gloria lifted the sheaf of papers out of its home drawer and double checked them. _Bingo. The president of Tranquillity Couture offered a_ ** _lot_** _of money to get these dress designs before Heart Kreuz could reveal them. Guess if you can't outdo the competition, you might as well steal from them._

Slipping them into a small case she'd brought along for just that purpose, Gloria then placed the case in the sack with the rest of the stolen items and made her way back down the halls toward the front door, idly spinning the copied door key on her finger as she did so.

Stepping outside, Gloria turned around and politely locked the door behind her to prevent anyone else from getting in. No sense in leaving the place vulnerable to any thug or wild animal that took a liking to the place. She was a thief, not a barbarian. Humming under her breath, she pulled the key out of the lock and moved to place it safely in her pocket, her job complete and well done.

"You know, it's people like you that really, really tick off some friends of mine." The young, completely unexpected voice made her shriek and spin around wildly. Leaning against the right post of the open yard gate, arms crossed lazily over his chest and oozing confidence as if he owned the place, was a boy. He was dressed casually in slightly baggy jeans and a yellow T-shirt that matched his spiky hair. His lazily confident manner was enhanced by how he was studying her with half-lidded, seemingly bored eyes.

Her heart, which had jumped into her throat at his unexpected appearance climbed all the way into her mouth when she realized that the boy wasn't alone either. Standing on either side of him were two other children, a girl and a boy of even younger ages than the middle boy. Though she couldn't read the expression of the blue-haired boy because of his almost ridiculously large sunglasses, the girl was clearly throwing nonverbal death threats at Gloria with her eyes.

Hastily, she swallowed back the fear that had risen at being spotted and forced herself to calm down. _They're just kids. I don't know why they were passing down the road just as I came out, but they're just kids. I'm a grown woman and an experienced thief. I came prepared for this, no need to panic._ Shifting her expression into an innocently baffled expression, Gloria shifted her bag to her other shoulder and slipped her freed hand into her pocket in a practiced, easygoing gesture, "Why, hello there you three. Enjoying the afternoon?"

The middle boy ignored her attempt at civility, "What are you doing?" His voice was blunt and hard, as if he already knew and was just waiting for her to admit it.

Pushing that thought away and refusing to let her poker face falter, Gloria replied with just the right amount of righteous offense, "Whatever do you mean? This is **my** home."

This time, it was the blue-haired boy who spoke, his voice dripping so much scorn it was a wonder it wasn't forming puddles, "Liar. You're stealing." Something about his tone, the sheer conviction and confidence in his opinion, rattled Gloria.

Swallowing, Gloria faked a laugh and lied again, refusing to let herself be intimidated into making a mistake by children, "Oh, that's what this is about! No, you see, Margaret Town Charity is having a fundraiser tomorrow and since I've had some trinkets and such like floating around my house for some time, I thought I would finally clear it out and give it away to a good cause. This bag was the only thing I had that was large enough to fit it all in."

Again the blue-haired boy rattled her with how swiftly and confidently he snapped out, "Liar."

Carefully, Gloria fiddled with the barrier cube in her pocket, debating the merits of using it there and then and dealing with the consequences of someone seeing her face later. She knew she would still be hard to identify when she wasn't hiding all of her hair under a cap and had her oversized glasses on instead of her contacts. But still, this could potentially ruin her perfect record.

Shifting her face into a stern glare, Gloria snapped, "It's rude to accuse someone of lying without any proof, boy. Especially when I am being perfectly honest!"

The blue-haired boy snorted, "Honest my-" the little girl shifted her glare briefly to him and he amended his intended sentence smoothly, "left foot. You're lying, you're stealing, and it's really ticking me off." Gloria started to retort something but the boy cut her off, his tone becoming more aggressive with each word, "You're pretty, you're well-clothed, you're healthy, and it's obvious that you get to eat whenever you want to. You don't **need** to steal, but here you are, taking someone else's stuff and never caring how it might effect them. You aren't starving, you aren't half-naked because the only clothes you have are falling apart, you aren't so sick you need the extra money for medicine. So why would you steal?"

The boy paused and then his fists clenched to the point of shaking, "Because it's fun? Really? You're doing this, you're stealing, lying, hurting other people because it's **fun**?"

 _How did he know?_ The fearful thought whipped through her before she could stop it, causing her already paling skin to whiten even further, _he can't know. He's just a brat who's guessing for no reason. For all I know, they came here for petty burglary themselves! Hardly anyone uses this road at this time of day, and there are no children living at the other houses in the area, so why else would they be here?_ "I… I…" Gloria's fingers were wrapped tightly around the barrier cube, ready to throw it at moment's notice.

The blond boy finally spoke up again, "That's enough, Bickslow."

The blue-haired boy, Bickslow apparently, hissed, "But Laxus-!"

The blond shook his head, "I said that's enough. You need to calm down. You've said your piece." Shifting his gaze back to Gloria, he said, "Sorry for my friend. He's excitable."

Gloria felt some of her nerves ease, "I can tell. You should really work on you're friend's manners, eh, Laxus-kun wasn't it?"

One side of Laxus's mouth twitched upward as he straightened up and bowed at the waist, "That's right. You must be new to the neighborhood, right? Just moved in?"

Gloria blinked and scrambled for a response. On one hand, she could lie and agree with him since he acted like he knew the area well. On the other, he could be bluffing and saying she'd just moved in would contradict her previous story. Sticking with her story, Gloria shook her head, "No, no. I've lived here for a while now. Years at least."

Laxus straightened up, a surprised look on his face, "Really? Huh. I didn't expect that, I mean…" the surprised look slid off his face like water in favor of a dangerous smirk, "Favager-san never told my cousin that she had a housemate. I would have thought she'd introduce someone so obviously important in her life to her new **fiancé**."

All the swearwords she'd ever come across in literature flooded Gloria's mind as she realized she'd been tricked. Her hand whipped out of her pocket, flinging the barrier cube toward the three children and promptly trapping them behind four glowing green walls. Without looking back, Gloria took off down the road, heart pounding as she sprinted away, cursing the entire time in her head.

She'd made it maybe a hundred yards when the sound of thunder rippled through the cloudless day and lightning slammed down into the road five feet in front of her. The shockwave knocked her backwards and onto her butt, a scream of startled terror escaping her lips as she fell. The lightning snapped and snarled in place, an impossible, seething ball of electrical fury right in the middle of the road. Panicking completely now, she rolled onto her hands and knees, scrambling up in an attempt to run back to town off-road. Before her shaking legs had carried her three steps, green light seared in front of her face, cutting off her retreat.

She recoiled with another scream. Her scream hit an even higher octave as three shrieking, tittering … things started zipping around her head like oversized and deadly flies, cutting off from her newest intended escape route.

Swatting desperately at the shrieking things, Gloria whirled to run off the other side of the road, terror lending speed to her feet and causing her to forget all about the bag of stolen goods she had just dropped. Something wrapped tightly around her legs, yanking them out from under her and sending her sprawling face first into the pebbled dirt with a high-pitched rush of air.

Lungs heaving, Gloria rolled onto her back and tried to free her legs from the tight rope-like thing binding them together. Her struggles froze when she finally realized that the thing binding her legs together was inky black and seemed to rise up from its two-dimensional status on the ground in order to trip her up. Her eyes flickered upward to where the mass of lightning had been and instead of crackling light, she found herself staring into the coldly smiling eyes of the boy Laxus.

She could practically feel the blood draining from her face as she choked out, "H-how? W-who?"

Laxus smiled icily at her as Bickslow and the little girl moved to stand in formation around her, boxing Gloria in on three sides, "I told you didn't I? I'm Laxus, as in Laxus Dreyar, grandson of Makarov Dreyar. You know, the Master of one of the strongest magic guilds in all of Fiore?"

All the pieces clicked together and Gloria felt like crying, "Then y-you're not really-?"

Laxus snorted, "The cousin of Favager-san's fiancé? No, I'm not. But you fell for the bluff so beautifully and really, one outrageous lie deserves another doesn't it? Also, you really shouldn't try using those cheap barrier stones against actual mages. Especially ones with long-range capabilities, it really isn't that hard to shatter the stone and break the barrier if you know what you're doing."

Gloria struggled desperately against the magic wrapped around her legs and gasped when two more tendrils formed to pin down her hands, forcing her to lie flat on her back in the middle of the road. A curious whistle pierced the air followed by what sounded like several tongue clicks and Gloria looked dazedly over in the direction of the little girl. The girl was gesturing idly with her hands as she continued to make nonsense noises, causing the black shadowy bands pinning Gloria down to twitch slightly in response, further terrifying the thief.

Bickslow spoke up suddenly and it took a moment for Gloria to realize through her daze that he was acting as a translator, "Wren want's to know what we're going to do now. I mean, we can't just let her go." Bickslow cocked his head to one side and asked in a tone far too casual for a boy his age, "Should we knock her out? It would make it easier to drag her somewhere if she wasn't squirming and screaming."

Laxus seemed to consider it, further cementing Gloria's recently formed opinion that mage children were insane, before shaking his head, "I don't want to if we don't have to. Besides, we're an hour's walk out from the edge of Magnolia, let alone the police precinct. Fairy Tail get's enough censure from the Council for violent methods as it is without reports of us dragging a random unconscious woman through the city. I don't want to give Jiji the headache."

Bickslow scowled, the freaky chittering things looping lazily around his head as he did so, "Yeah well, Wren will probably get really tired if she has to drag this one all the way there with her shadows and she's going to make a break for it the moment Wren let's go."

Laxus looked contemplatively at Gloria, his expression closer to that of someone who'd found an annoying mutt and was wondering how to take it to the pound without the risk of getting bitten than someone wondering how to transport a captured criminal to the authorities. Gloria felt another bubble of panic and adrenaline rise in her and she struggled against the … shadows holding her down, "L-let me go! I'll do whatever you want! I c-can pay you! Just let me go!"

In unison, all three turned disgusted looks on her, not even deigning to give a verbal response to her pleas before going back to their previous conversation. Laxus snapped his fingers, "Hey, Bickslow, think you could-"

The answer was curt and instant, "No."

Laxus sighed, "But it would really-"

" **No**." Bickslow's voice was positively frigid, laced with a lot more intimidation that any boy his age should rightfully have been able to use while wearing sunglasses and dressed in a T-shirt with a smiley face on it.

Laxus grunted faintly in disapproval, "Come on, it won't hurt her, and it will keep Jiji from having to deal with more paperwork."

The floating things, which looked suspiciously like tiki dolls now that Gloria had an unwilling moment to study them, spun a little faster in agitation, "Don't care. I'm not doing **that** to anyone unless it's a life and death situation. Ever. Figure out something else."

An argument started between the two boys over using "that", making Gloria increasingly nervous with the unspoken connotations she was picking up, before the little girl sighed heavily and started walking, Gloria dragging along behind her like unwanted baggage. Gloria squirmed and squeaked in terror as the shadows rearranged into a tight cocoon around her body instead of four separate tendrils, fully pinning her and rendering her helpless as she was dragged back toward town.

It took almost a minute before the two boys registered Gloria's shrieking protests and steady, unwilling, departure. When they did, they both shouted protests and took off after the little girl, Laxus pausing only long enough to grab the bag of loot Gloria had a feeling she would never get to use and sling it over his shoulder. After a few seconds of catching up to the girl, there was a weighty pause and then Laxus said causally, "…Alright then. I guess Wren-chan's dragging her to the precinct." Gloria's main captor dignified that statement with a very unladylike snort and a firm tug on Gloria's moving prison.

Goodnatured banter rose between the three, completely ignoring the now silent thief while Gloria tried to process how her career as a thief had just been brought to an abrupt halt by three children. **Children**. Inside the cocoon of shadows, Gloria squirmed around until she could successfully palm the item hidden in her right-hand pocket. She didn't want to use it, especially not against children, but she couldn't, **wouldn't** let her career and freedom end like this.

The moment these … shadows were no longer binding her, she was getting back her freedom.

* * *

Rihanna scowled internally while Laxus explained to the officer at the front desk **why** the three of them were back so soon and with a woman being dragged along in Rihanna's shadows. _So much for house hunting. Why is it that Bickslow and I spent three weeks without anything major happening during jobs, but now we get involved in messes just by_ ** _walking down the road_** _?_ It really was ridiculous. It was made more so by the fact that this was only their third time reporting to the police precinct in as many days and already Fujimoto-san, the officer who manned the front desk, was mostly unsurprised to see them.

Apparently all Fairy Tail members were cursed to get into outrageous amounts of trouble, no matter how hard they tried to avoid it. _Case in point,_ Rihanna waved at Cana as the other girl emerged from one of the hallways leading deeper into the precinct, sparking a responding wave and a curious look from Cana. Cana looked up at the officer who had been escorting her, smiling a farewell to the man before skipping over to Rihanna and looking over the situation.

Blinking once, Cana turned to Rihanna and casually asked, "Thief, mugger, runaway noble, or international serial killer?"

 _…_ _. I'm not certain if it's hilarious or horrifying that an eight-year-old can ask that question to a six-year-old in all seriousness and with a straight face._ Deciding to freak out over the implications later, Rihanna raised a single finger. Cana, who had been getting much better at reading Rihanna's sign language so long as it was kept simple, sighed, "Oh good, I thought Laxus's luck had transferred over to you completely already."

Rihanna must have had an inquiring look on her face because Cana shrugged faintly and said, "Ask him sometime about the Crocus City Incident, or the Clover Town Scandal." _I'm almost afraid to do that. Is this really a Guild thing and not just a Team Natsu thing? I mean, I knew trouble followed this guild but … really? It happens so much that nobody even blinks at it anymore?_

Cana went on talking easily, ignoring the stunned look Rihanna was giving her, "Yeah … I'm not sure if it's just a Fairy Tail thing or if other guilds get it too, but after a while in the guild, all of the members start running into really weird stuff while on jobs. Rumors are that the trouble is even specific person to person. Like, for me, it's gotten to the point where Chief Akiyama calls me in to make divinations on where the major bases are for smuggling rings before ever sending out investigative teams. I'm good too. Ninety-eight percent accuracy. Anyway, Laxus tends to get into chases and fights with the criminal underworld. Macao-san and Wakaba-san keep running into pirates every time they go to a port city, and Enno-san has almost stopped going on jobs altogether because she'd tired of cultists trying to kidnap her. Something about them thinking she's a long lost island empress?"

Rihanna wondered if she should go sit down in order to process this a little better, _oh Pantherlilies, she's serious._ A random thought popped into her head and Rihanna almost giggled, _I guess that means the past few missions we did with Laxus in between training, school, and house hunting were really mild by Fairy Tail standards, weren't they? We only broke up a budding crime syndicate while searching for an old lady's lost dog. Faced down a massive kleptomaniac with an obsession for all things pink and explosive while helping out the local postal service. Oh yeah, and we found that long lost stash of gold stolen from the bank fifty years ago while showing Laxus how my eye magic works out in the woods. Though the last one wasn't a job, really. But I think it still counts._

Officer Fujimoto politely interrupted the conversation, his handcuffs out and ready, "Alright, Wren-chan, you can let her up now."

Looking at the shadow cocoon she'd made around the lady thief, Rihanna cautiously waved a hand, dispersing the shadows slowly. The moment the majority of them had vanished, the previously quiet woman lunged to her feet with a hysterical scream, lunging for the people nearest the door, a long pocketknife gleaming in her hand. _She was armed?_ The frantic thought flickered in the back of Rihanna's mind even as she started to bring up her shadows again defensively, terror ripping through her when she saw the woman lunge for Cana.

Cana squeaked in surprise as the woman suddenly grabbed her by the arms, preventing her from reaching her tarot cards, and held the knife to her throat threateningly. Instantly, all activity in the front room of the precinct froze. Officer Fujimoto, who had been less than three steps away from catching up to the woman and handcuffing her, now went stock-still, his voice dropping to a serious yet tentative octave, "Miss, let go of the girl."

The knife came closer to Cana's throat, the woman pressed too close to Cana for her to really struggle without risking getting hurt, and snarled, "No! I'm not going to prison! I am **not** going to let my life be ruined by three little … freakish brats!"

Officer Fujimoto was saying something again, one hand extending out behind him to prevent Laxus from trying anything, but Rihanna couldn't really hear him. She was the closest one to the situation, logically she should be doing something to free Cana safely and help take the woman into custody again, but she couldn't move. Rihanna's eyes were riveted on the knife blade hovering so dangerously close to Cana's ivory smooth neck, her mind teetering dangerously between memory and reality as her own throat burned with phantom agony and her lungs rasped with panic.

 _Blood-no-not-there-stop-think-calm-down-no-breathe!_ The door in Rihanna's mind twitched dangerously and she redirected what thought processes she still had to keep it shut, her hands shaking violently as rage blended with panic to form pure adrenaline in her veins.

Suddenly, a voice broke through the roaring in her ears, filled with command and rage that somehow snapped her out of her hazy thoughts and back to reality, "You! **Drop the knife**!" The woman's eyes flicked toward the voice, then widened as a bright green glow overcame their natural color and the hand holding the knife went obediently slack.

Rihanna instantly reached out with her magic, latching on to Cana's shadow and pulling viciously. Cana's shadow leaped off of the floor, wrapping around Cana like a thick blanket and pulling her to the ground and away from the woman just as Laxus sent a massive lightning bolt flying from his hand to slam into the woman's stomach. The woman skidded backwards through the glass doors of the precinct entrance, sprawling out on the street where she lay in a twitching heap.

Officer Fujimoto was already following her out the door, yelling orders at other nearby officers as he reached to handcuff the woman before she could recover and cause more trouble. For several minutes, there was organized chaos in the precinct. Other officers helped Fujimoto drag the woman back inside, cuffs around both her hands and her ankles, while another man promptly rushed to get the precinct doctor to treat her for lightning burns and possible other injuries from Laxus's large blast.

Only once the woman had been dragged off down the halls and out of the room did Rihanna relinquish her hold on Cana's shadow, allowing the girl to sit up and look around a touch shakily. Rihanna ran to Cana's side, a thousand and one fears running through her mind, all of them focused around the pocket knife another police officer had just confiscated off the floor.

Cana started to look around, "Wha-?"

Bickslow was suddenly on Cana's other side, a tight expression on his face and his sunglasses lying abandoned on the floor where he had previously been standing, "Cana! Cana, oi! Are you okay? Did she hurt you? Stupid witch, I knew we should have knocked her out!"

Cana shifted her gaze to Bickslow, confusion shining clearly in her eyes, "Bickslow? What … what just happened? How did you make her drop the knife?"

Bickslow froze, then swallowed hard, "W-well you see- The thing is … I … I …" He refused to meet Cana's gaze, apparently at a loss for words.

Rihanna looked from Bickslow, to the discarded sunglasses, then back, a shaky smile blooming on her face as she realized what had happened. Bickslow, the boy who detested his eye magic and loathed to use it for any reason, had practically ripped his sunglasses off of his face so as to have clear eye contact with the woman holding Cana hostage and make her drop the knife. Without any hesitation whatsoever. _So you really do care about her._

Laxus carefully picked up the sunglasses and walked over to the three of them, addressing Cana as he did so, "Bickslow used his eye magic, long story. You okay?"

Cana nodded shakily, "Yeah. I'm okay." She frowned suddenly, "I can't believe I just let that happen! I haven't been caught off guard like that in a year!"

Rihanna was the only one watching Bickslow, so she was the only one who saw the flicker of relief that passed over his face before he masked it with a mocking tongue smile, "Well, maybe if you weren't such a _Same-boke_ , this wouldn't have happened. Seriously, why were you just standing there when someone was charging you with a knife? _Baka_."

Cana reacted as was expected, "Who are you calling a _Same-boke_? You're the one who brought in a dangerous criminal without checking to make sure she was unarmed!"

Bickslow waved his arms wildly, sending Pappa, Pippi, and the just-added-yesterday Puppu into hysterical spirals, "Oi! How is this my fault? Laxus was the one who wouldn't let me just knock her out and have done with it! If she hadn't been conscious, the knife wouldn't have been a problem!"

Laxus suddenly spoke to Rihanna in a low tone, his eyes flicking back and forth between Cana and Bickslow with amusement, "Are they always like this?"

Rihanna nodded with a sigh. _Pretty much. I'm starting to think it's some kind of mutual antagonistic crush._ Rather impatiently, Rihanna loudly clapped her hands together, giving Bickslow and Cana a deadpan look the moment they gave her their attention.

Both already knew the meaning of the look and for once, did not require Shadow Slaps to settle down. Instead, Cana let herself be herded to a chair by a concerned officer who double-checked that she was perfectly fine and apologized profusely for having that happen to her while in the precinct. Laxus calmly handed Bickslow back his sunglasses, "I thought you weren't going to use Figure Eyes unless it was life or death?"

Bickslow gave a low growl and promptly put his sunglasses back on, "That **was** life or death. Besides, no one messes with the guild and gets away with it, right?"

Laxus actually looked proud, "Right."

Officer Fujimoto, who had returned from wherever they'd taken the thief, watched the exchange and chuckled faintly, "Looks like you've got quite the budding little team there Laxus-kun."

Bickslow immediately wrinkled his nose in confusion, "Team?"

Another nearby officer laughed, "Team? More like a mini-tribe with how reclusive those two are around strangers."

Rihanna's head came up in astonishment, _wait. Tribe. Don't tell me that this-_ Several others began joking about what this supposed three-person tribe would be called, since apparently all guild-based teams had their own names. Several ridiculous names were bounced back and forth, successfully breaking the tension after what could have been a disastrous situation. Things like "Laxus's posse", "Chibi Tribe" and other such titles that made Bickslow bristle and Laxus roll his eyes.

Suddenly, another officer Rihanna knew, Officer Leavitte, suggested seriously, "How about _Raijinshū_?"

Everyone paused, looking over at Leavitte in confusion. Seeing the looks, Leavitte pointed at the long black scorch mark on the floor and the blasted-out glass of the front doors, "Well, Laxus is the most talented lightning mage in the city, right? Heck, he'll probably be the best lightning mage in all Fiore once he grows up. He's a budding _Raijin_ and they're his tribe. So, _Raijinshū_."

All around, expressions turned considering as everyone pondered the reasoning behind the new suggestion. Rihanna watched with helpless fascination as Laxus and Bickslow exchanged glances, a slow grin forming on Laxus's face as he murmured, " _Raijinshū_ … _Raijinshū_. I like it. What'd you think, Bickslow-kun, Wren-chan?"

Bickslow was glancing from Laxus to Wren, an unidentifiable expression on his face, "But … but aren't tribes like … family?"

Laxus shrugged almost bonelessly, "Yeah, so? We're Fairy Tail and Jiji says that counts just as much as any blood ties."

Bickslow looked simultaneously like someone had just socked him in the stomach and offered him a present, " _Raijinshū_ …" His gaze settled fully on Rihanna, a hopeful, eager, **happy** look on his face as he waited for Rihanna's verdict. Rihanna, for her part, felt stunned, confused, and vaguely frightened. _This … this is the birth of the Raijinshū? But … but only two canon characters are here! What about Freed and Evergreen?_ She bit her lip uncertainly, _Is my presence somehow sparking its formation early? Or somehow preventing Freed and Evergreen from being here? Maybe … maybe I shouldn't. I don't want to ruin everything …_ But then she met Bickslow's gaze, saw just how happy the thought of being a team, a "tribe", with his little sister and the boy who had accepted him like no other made him, and couldn't find it in her heart to say no.

A smile bloomed weakly on her face and she nodded, causing Bickslow to pump a fist in the air and whoop, "Yeah! We're the _Raijinshū_! **Whoo**!" Rihanna politely ignored the various "aww"s that rippled through the room as Bickslow and his tiki dolls practically danced from excitement and Laxus chortled at Bickslow's antics with a crazy grin. Rihanna let Bickslow grab her hands and pull her into an impromptu dance while Cana coaxed a nearby officer into taking pictures and felt her own smile growing bigger the longer she stared at Bickslow's.

In the back of her mind, Rihanna knew that becoming a founding member of the _Raijinshū_ was probably not something to be happy over. After all, their first major appearance in the series was as bad guys and traitors to the guild during the Fantasia Arc.

But right now, with Bickslow acting so happily silly and Laxus herding them patiently out of the precinct while Cana just snorted and denounced that she was **not** joining their team because Bickslow's crazy might be contagious, Rihanna could only smile and whistle a happy note to Laxus. Because right now, with Bickslow and Cana fighting again and Laxus rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Rihanna felt something she hadn't really felt in over three years since coming to Earthland.

She felt like she was finally home.

* * *

 **Japanese Translations: Raijin - the name of the Shinto deity of thunder, lightning, and storms.**

 **Raijinshū - Raijin's tribe/ Thunder god tribe.**


	15. Chapter 14: Lighthouses and Homes

**Hey all! Would have posted yesterday, but I had to update my Transformers story as well and it took. All. Day. Long. to edit it. Thus, this one got grudgingly rescheduled to today. Anyway, on to the responses and chapter!**

 **Review Response: Dear CorpulentCatfish, greetings! Glad to hear it, thank you for patiently waiting, and enjoy the newest update!**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hello there! Thank you, I do my best. Hmm, I'm actually not sure what Wren's presence is going to change in that arc. It may not happen at all, it may come very close to happening, or it might happen anyway, but with key changes. We're just going to have to wait and see, I suppose.**

 **Dear Hazel tree09, hi! The Raijinshū do appear to be an already tight-knit group, don't they? Even though their roster isn't full yet. On the Fairy Tail recovery period, I have a theory actually. One, I think that having magic makes them naturally more durable and have a naturally faster/more powerful healing factor that increases based on how much magic they have. Second, wasn't it stated in the Tenrou island arc that all Fairy Tail members are granted some kind of anti-death protection from the Tenrou tree? I know the directors only meant that for members while on the island, but what if it had a long-range affect of accelerating their ability to regenerate magic and thus, heal faster? Plus they have Fairy Heart right underneath their feet, no doubt giving off magic radiation of some kind... (shrugs) Just my personal theory. Cool, that's one vote for a one-shot collection! I'm thinking of calling it Amongst Untrodden Ways: Detours. As for my writing, thank you for the compliment! Writing is one of my favorite activities, so I practice a lot. You're welcome and I hope this next one pleases you as well!**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! Why, thank you! Sometime's it's fun to start from the bad guy's perspective. Oh-ho-ho, I have plans for Freed's and Evergreen's appearances. Big plans. Just how much the characters will work with me on those plans has yet to be seen though... Yeah, Rihanna has some PTSD from the event that sent her here, but luckily Bickslow is there to calm her down even if he doesn't know why she's panicking. Most of the training, including training her eye magic, happens offscreen, but it does happen on a daily basis barring long-term missions. Just something to remember as they become better at using their magic. You bring up a very good idea with Warren, one I've already been toying with. But I won't be bringing him in for a while. There's no point in giving Wren a disability like being mute, only to magically (literally) remove it within a handful of chapters. Still, it's something I'll keep in mind for the future.**

 **Dear Guest, hello! Yay! A second vote for a one-shot collection. Your desire to see the lost gold incident has been noted for future reference, by the way, it may even end up being the first one-shot I do. But we'll have to wait and see. I get the impression that every Fairy Tail member as their own kind of Luck that combines and grows whenever members take missions together. Thus, why the missions that only have say, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy, are not as chaotic as the ones where Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Carla tag along as well. So, yeah, Wren and Bickslow will probably have their own kind of luck, but it won't show up very often because they'll be hanging out with Laxus so often. Thank you, I'm glad the chapter lived up to expectations! The Raijinshū are arguably my favorite set of characters next to Crime Sorciere (Jellal is eleven kinds of adorable ninja awesome sometimes), so I wanted to give them a nice debut. They aren't quite complete though, so keep an eye out for when the last two members show up in a future chapter!**

 **Dear YumiKnowsBest, hey there! Thank you! I'm not 100% when Freed and Evergreen will show up, mostly because I'm not sure how long I want the Raijinshū to just be Laxus, Bickslow, and Wren. I have to give those three enough time to bond, but not so much as they become un-accomidating to new members. It won't be until sometime after chapter seventeen at the earliest though. As for how they'll act ... well. One is an OCD rule lover and the other is like a fussy cat with a superiority complex while Wren is a no-nonsense adult in the body of a child half their ages. Somehow, I don't see the first few weeks of association being ... smooth.**

 **Dear Silverwater, greetings! Aw, thank you! I practice a lot. Hope you like the newest update!**

 **Author's Note: So. The idea of a one-shot collection seems to have been met with favor or neutrality in general, therefore, I will attempt to set it up soon. In other news, the house that Wren and Bickslow eventually buy can actually be seen in the anime. If you hunt around for screenshots of Magnolia, particularly during the Fantasia arc, you should be able to spot it behind and to the left of the Fairy Tail building. You'll know better what I mean when you read about it and you certainly don't have to go looking, I just thought it was a nice fun fact that the building is technically canon. Even if its use isn't. Lastly, I reference another anime quite blatantly in this chapter and I would like it to be known that I do not intend to insult said anime in any way with my reference. I'm just poking good-natured fun at how similar yet different it is with Fairy Tail in certain respects. You'll be seeing that sort of thing from me repeatedly in this story, because I personally get a kick out of referencing other anime in this manner. Hope you enjoy it too, and kudos if you figure out which anime I mean on the first hint!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen - Lighthouses and Homes**

 **(One month, three weeks since joining Guild)**

Laxus stood beside the genial realtor Samson-san, watching Bickslow and Rihanna inspect the apartment, his expression conveying that he already knew what their answer would be even before they said it. When the two finally returned to the living room, Laxus raised an eyebrow, "Still not the one?"

Rihanna shook her head mournfully while Bickslow shoved his hands in his pockets moodily, "No. It's really nice and all, but … it's just not right somehow."

Samson-san nodded slowly, chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully as he said, "I suppose I can understand your reasoning, Bickslow-san, I recall the criteria listed on your request papers. However, I am running out of potential homes to show you. You will probably have to look into renting one at this rate."

Bickslow shifted uncomfortably, "How would we do that?"

Samson-san launched into details about how to search for a suitable rented home and Rihanna tuned him out after the first five sentences. The process was mostly identical to her world's methods after all, she didn't need the lesson. Glancing over at Bickslow, she saw a vaguely glazed look in his eyes and realized with a silent chuckle that he was unintentionally tuning out as well. Samson-san, while a friendly and nice man, was a bit of a rambler. Eventually, Laxus managed to politely halt Samson-san's rambles and bid him goodbye for the day so that the _Raijinshū_ could head back to the guild and pick up a mission.

Bickslow idly kicked a loose pebble down the street, his three tiki dolls drooping low to the ground in disappointment as he muttered, "Man, that stinks. How can it be so hard to find a place in a city this big?"

Laxus shrugged, "You could try being a little less picky, you know. That last apartment seemed fine to me."

Bickslow shook his head stubbornly, "It wasn't. It just … It didn't feel safe, none of them do."

Laxus looked over at Bickslow curiously and Rihanna mentally perked up, this was the first time Bickslow had openly stated his reason for refusing so many potential homes. While Rihanna would have chosen among a few of the ones Samson-san had been showing them over the past few days, Bickslow had stubbornly turned down each and every one of them without exception and Rihanna had been unable to figure out why even as she reluctantly catered to her brother.

Shoving his hands in his pockets and slouching in a way reminiscent of his future self, Laxus asked, "What do you mean? How were they not safe? Was it a Figure Eyes thing?"

Bickslow scowled from behind the sunglasses Laxus had given him several days ago after reading up on safety measures for eye magic users, "It has nothing to do with my eyes! I think…"

Laxus hummed, "Then why didn't those places feel safe?"

Bickslow shrugged helplessly, "I … it's hard to explain. I just, some of those places were too open and some were too crowded. I felt like I could be spied on or attacked at any moment. I wasn't lying or anything when I said Wren didn't like some of the places or that they were too far away for both our liking, but all of them just felt … unsafe. Like they were missing something that was really important. Don't really know why."

Laxus frowned in contemplation and Rihanna tilted her head back to stare thoughtfully at the sky as they walked. _Not safe, huh? I suppose I can see why he would feel like that. After so long on the streets, the thought of moving out of the guild building scares even me. Still, not sure what I can do about it to make him feel better, if anything, and we really do need to find a place of our own soon. I'm pretty sure Laxus will get tired of helping us house hunt eventually and we can't stay at the guild building forever._

The last house Samson-san had shown them wasn't all that far from Fairy Tail and Rihanna soon found herself dragged out of her thoughts by the sight of the familiar building. Laxus threw open the doors casually, as if he wasn't a mere thirteen-year-old boy whipping open two towering double doors that, realistically, should have been incredibly hard to move. Half a second after opening the doors, Laxus bent double, one of his hands whipping out to press against the small of Rihanna's back and make her do the same.

Rihanna felt a breeze ripple over her back as poor Reedus went flying out the doors like a woefully screaming missile, still clutching his ruined paintbrush of the week in one hand. Straightening up, Rihanna sidestepped away from the door and its newly opened line of fire in order to safely turn around and check on Reedus. Bickslow idly waved a hand, silently commanding his newest tiki Puppu to blast a sailing chair into sawdust before it could hit him, "Yo, Reedus, you okay?"

Reedus sat up slowly, running a hand through his extremely puffy hair and sighing heavily, " _Oui_ , I'm fine. Alex-san is just getting a little too into it again." Bickslow doubled back to Reedus and politely offered a hand to help him up, making Rihanna internally swell with pride at how far Bickslow was coming when it came to manners and human contact over such a short period of time.

Accepting the hand, Reedus climbed to his feet and looked mournfully down at his ruined paint brush, "You'd think everyone would be too tired from missions to get into fights all the time."

Bickslow gave Reedus a look that clearly stated he thought the older teen was insane just as a bright flash of light emitted through the guild doorway, heralded by a crackle of static and Laxus's slightly maniacal laughter. Rihanna laughed soundlessly at the look on Reedus's face when the teen realized that Laxus had somehow been coaxed into the daily brawl. Shifting nervously, Reedus stammered, "I, uh, I t-think I'll go get one of my spare brushes from home. Yeah. I'll be right back. Goodbye, Bickslow-kun, Wren-chan." So saying, he hurried away from the increasingly loud war zone that was the Fairy Tail guild building.

Bickslow watched Reedus go with a vaguely puzzled look on his face before he shrugged and calmly braved the guild, Rihanna trailing on his heels and his tikis floating a tight, protective formation around them both. Tables were overturned and chairs were flying as various guild members took great pleasure in beating each other to a pulp. All in the name of strengthening non-blood-related familiar bonds, of course.

Eyeing the conflict warily, Rihanna spotted what appeared to be Team Ivory and Team Katt at the epicenter of the conflict and huffed. _So those two teams started the fight? How did that happen? Katt is normally so calm and unflappable. I don't see her letting her teammates start anything and Harold couldn't harm a bunny rabbit if it bit him._ Alex, an extremely musclebound young man who Rihanna strongly suspected would become an influential figure in Elfman's life when the latter arrived, suddenly rose to the top of the pile, shouting something about eternal love and matrimony. Moments later, his shouting was silenced by Katt, who had also emerged to the temporary top of the brawl and promptly cracked him over the head with her tribal fighting staff and a shriek of, "I'm not going to date you, you imbecile! When will you get it that no means **no**!"

 _Ah. That explains it. Alex finally confessed his affections for her in probably the most traumatizing and adorably awkward way imaginable. I wonder if there were sparkles and posing involved?_ A moment later Rihanna was mentally chastising herself as she took cover behind the bar with Bickslow, _stop stereotyping him, Rihanna. Just because he's blond, musclebound, and extremely reminiscent of that character Damian was always showing clips of and laughing at doesn't mean you should compare the two._

There was another loud clap of magic clashing and smoke drifted lazily over the top of the bar while Rihanna shrugged ruefully to herself, _Even if he really_ ** _does_** _seem to act a lot like that giant mustached dude from that freaky anime Damian liked so much. What was it called again? Something Alchemy? No, it involved metal too. Iron Alchemy? Metal Alchemist? No. Come on, Rihanna, think! Damian would be so ranting right now if he knew you'd forgotten … not that he knows. He must think I'm dead by now…_

Her suddenly gloomy thoughts were interrupted by another small body hurtling over the top of the bar and landing with a thud and muffled curses on top of Bickslow. Bickslow and the newcomer rolled on the floor for several seconds, Bickslow shouting inappropriate things the entire time before Rihanna saw a flash of patterned paper and Bickslow was suddenly twitching on the floor, static electricity flickering off of his clothes.

Now that Bickslow was no longer flailing and cursing, Cana carefully extricated herself out from under him and smoothed down her sundress with a huff. The card mage's face was the color of a fully matured tomato as she scrambled for another card, "You … you pervert! You touched me!"

Not wanting to see what Cana would unleash on her brother for the perceived perverted acts, Rihanna carefully caught Cana's hand with a shadow tendril, preventing her from slapping the newest card on Bickslow's forehead. Cana tugged against it before turning to face the source of her restraint. She saw Rihanna staring with bland expectance and turned an even darker shade of red, "Wren-chan. I need you to let me go so I can teach your big brother a **very important lesson**. He shouldn't be swearing like that in front of you anyway! Let alone acting like a pervert!"

Bickslow sat up suddenly, the effect of the paralysis card wearing off, " **Pervert**? You're the one who landed on top of me! I didn't even know who you were!" _Tell me this conversation is not actually happening._

Cana folded her arms protectively over her chest, "You still shouldn't have touched me there, _Ero-baka_!"

Bickslow flung his hands up in the air as he scooted away from her moodily, "Touched you **where**? What are you talking about, _Same-boke_? And don't call me _Ero-baka_!"

Cana was stubbornly not looking at Bickslow, "You .. you … **ugh**! You should already know, _Aho_!" _Oh, Pantherlilies it is. How does she even know about perverts anyway? Wait, she's an eight-year-old who goes off on magic jobs all the time, Makarov or another member probably gave her a strict talk about what guys can and cannot do around her. Still, I am in a fictional world, hiding behind a bar to avoid a magical brawl, while two children sit next to me and have a spat over … when did they start arguing about the stupidity level of different shades of hair color? Check that, when did this become my life?_

With a low sigh, Rihanna utilized her near reflex Shadow Slap to break up the fight. Obediently, both Cana and Bickslow stopped fighting and turned to look at her. Crossing her arms over her chest, Rihanna gestured to Cana questioningly, not even bothering attempting to whistle over the racket going on just on the other side of their hiding place.

Scooting farther away from Bickslow, Cana pulled out a crumpled poster from her purse and answered, "Well, I **was** trying to get this job off of the request board and escape the guild until this fight settles down. But the fight is blocking the door and I had to hide somewhere to keep Martel from grabbing me and using me as a shield instead of the chair."

Rihanna nodded sympathetically. Martel was their resident Item Mage, specializing in using magical items instead of caster magic, and as such he had a funny habit of grabbing whatever was close at hand and using it as a weapon.

Unfortunately, he was a big enough man that he could pick up kids as well as furniture and was blind enough when his glasses were missing, or smashed, to not be able to tell the difference when involved in the daily bar fight. Even Bickslow had suffered from Martel's eyesight problem and Rihanna had only avoided that fate because of her ever useful Shadow Form spell.

Pippi suddenly deviated from its normal formation to swoop by Cana's shoulder, scan the poster, and then return to Bickslow's side. Ignoring Cana's protests, Bickslow listened to the tiki doll's whispered report before sitting back on his heels in confusion, "Why'd you pick that job? You won't be any help moving heavy stuff. Especially not all the way to Hargeon Town."

Cana puffed her cheeks at Bickslow, "I will too! I can use my Card Dimension to move everything all by myself! Besides, Sandow-san is a friend of mine and I want to help him out."

Bickslow looked ready to argue the point, but Rihanna hissed pointedly at him and he grudgingly chose to ask another question rather than antagonize Cana, "Why does this … Sandow-san person need to move his belongings anyway?"

Cana possessively held the poster closer to her chest, "Sandow-san's moving. He's getting too old to make the trip from his house to town and back all the time, so he's going to sell his old one and move to Hargeon where his son and grandchildren live." _Sell?_ Rihanna mentally honed in on that comment, curiosity prickling at her mind as she moved to ask about the house he was selling.

Surprisingly, Bickslow beat her to it, his head cocking to one side as he asked, "Sell his house? For how much?"

Cana shrugged, "I don't know, I didn't ask. Wait, you two are still looking for a house, right?" Both of them nodded and Cana looked vaguely mollified, "Well, if we could get out of the guild building without getting dragged into that fight, I'd introduce you to him…"

Bickslow immediately grinned at Rihanna, "Well, _Imōto_? Think you can handle two passengers?" Rihanna considered Bickslow's request while Cana frowned in confusion.

Over the course of training under Laxus, Rihanna had figured out several new spells with her Shadow Magic. One of those things was short range teleportation through shadows, though that severely exhausted her after about three uses. Rihanna suspected it was how she'd managed to get Mest away from the bandits during that near-disastrous mission. Another one, and the one Bickslow was referring to, was Rihanna's ability to use her Shadow Form spell on other people.

The time limit was small and it was straining, but as long as Rihanna had a good grip on someone, she could use Shadow Form on both herself and her "passenger" to move to a new location unimpeded. So far, she'd only ever moved one person with her, but Cana was small and the distance from the bar to the doors was even shorter than most of the test runs Laxus had had her do, so…

Rihanna nodded shortly and reached out to grab Bickslow's and Cana's wrists. Cana was still frowning in confusion, "Passengers? What passengers? What are you talking about?"

Rihanna looked pointedly at Bickslow, waiting for him to explain so that Cana would know to run once she started the Shadow Form spell. Bickslow caught her look and sighed before turning to Cana, "You know how Wren can turn into a shadow?" _Is that what it looks like? Huh. Guess that explains the spell's name._

Cana, unaware of Rihanna's musing, nodded slowly and Bickslow continued, "Well, if Wren is holding onto someone, she can turn them into a shadow for a short time too. So, if we're really fast, Wren can turn us into shadows and we can run out the door without getting caught up in-" Alex's voice rose above the din in a roar of outrage, something about not letting the hands of another man touch "his precious Katt-sama" and Bickslow thumbed lazily over his shoulder, "That."

Pappa, Pippi, and Puppu all dryly chorused, "that, that, that" and Cana shot them a thoughtful look, "What about your babies?"

Bickslow wrinkled his nose, "Eew. Okay, one, they are **not** my 'babies'. Two, they'll be fine, they can just fly over it all."

Cana snorted at Bickslow declaration, "They might as well be, you treat them like it. Always polishing them and talking to them and-"

 _Okay, that's enough. Cutting this off before it get's out of control again!_ Rihanna squeezed their wrists pointedly and tugged them to their feet, mentally priming her magic as she gave them both a warning look. Getting the message, Bickslow and Cana shifted into better running positions and they all faced in the direction they needed to go. Rihanna took a deep, bracing breath, reached out to the shadows, and pulled.

The color scale of the world went through a familiar greying out, her magic already pushing and straining at holding two other people in the world of shadows with her. It was like the shadows were pushing against them, welcoming her but not Bickslow and Cana, trying to force the other two out despite Rihanna's own wishes. Cana gasped from Rihanna's left, "Whoa…" Rihanna pulled the two of them firmly, pushing through the door to the bar and sprinting for the exit to Fairy Tail before her magic could run out.

Bickslow quickly outpaced her, his longer legs bringing him into the lead as they all instinctively, if unnecessarily, ducked and wove around legs, fists, and flying bodies. Cana, still astonished by how the world looked in Shadow Form, straggled at the rear of their group, being dragged along by both Rihanna and Bickslow as they rushed for the door.

The moment they crossed the threshold of the door and were safely outside, Rihanna let go of her tight hold on the shadows and gasped as they were forcibly shoved back into the normal world. Cana stumbled and fell to her knees in surprise at the sudden shift while Bickslow, mildly used to it after accompanying Rihanna several times previously, just wobbled a bit on his feet and exhaled heavily, "That's never going to feel any less weird, is it?"

Rihanna carefully regulated her panting enough to ask, _"Feel weird?"_

Bickslow nodded and idly stroked his escaped tikis, "Yeah, it's like wading through really deep water, only it's all around and even over my head but I can still breathe. Sound is all messed up in there too, like everything's echoing. I don't know how you can stand doing it so often." He saw the puzzled look Rihanna was giving him and asked, "It doesn't feel that way for you?"

Rihanna shook her head, it didn't feel that way to her at all. It felt more like … being wrapped up in a thick velvet cloak that no one else could see through. Unless she was trying to teleport through the shadows, then things started to feel weird.

Turning her attention away from the odd differences in how a Shadow Mage experienced Shadow Form compared to a non-shadow mage, Rihanna reached over and gently patted the gasping Cana's shoulder, waiting for the vertigo to pass for the other girl. When Cana finally stood up, she carefully smoothed out her sundress before saying shakily, "Well … that was … not fun. I wonder if that's how stuff in my cards feel during a Card Dimension spell. I hope not. Anyway, thank's for that Wren-chan, Sandow-san's house is this way."

The three set off through Magnolia once more, leaving the guild building and the sounds of Makarov finally losing his patience with the other members behind. Cana led them down several unfamiliar streets, waving cheerfully to certain people as they walked and arguing with Bickslow until Rihanna threatened them both with her shadows again.

Rihanna felt her eyebrows creep fractionally up her forehead when she realized that Cana was leading them out of town in a direction she rarely went. Instead of toward the train station or the outskirt residential area to the northwest, Cana was leading them out toward the massive lake that bordered Magnolia's southeast side. Bickslow eventually stopped trying to get a rise out of Cana in favor of looking all around them cautiously, his body posture hinting that he was using Figure Eyes from behind his sunglasses.

Turning off of the cobblestone road that led to the lakeside, Cana led them up a steep and winding dirt path that hugged one of the small mountains bordering both Magnolia and the lake. Trees rose around them until they were unable to see either Magnolia or the lake and after almost fifteen minutes of walking in silence, Bickslow asked, "So … where does Sandow-san live again?"

Cana actually smiled over her shoulder at Bickslow, "You'll see. It's not much farther."

Sure enough, after a few more twists and turns, the path leveled out and the trees suddenly cleared to give a sweeping view of Magnolia on their right, the lake in the distance … and the gorgeous lighthouse sitting proudly by the cliffside, its red-topped spire glinting in the afternoon sun like the helm of an old sentinel. _Whoa…_

Unlike what Rihanna always envisioned when she thought of a lighthouse, it was not simply a tall spire with a door at the bottom to let a person inside, but it had a small house attached to it. The house itself was only one floor, and looked like it couldn't have more than two or three rooms in it total, but it was still more than she'd expected to see attached to a lighthouse. _It's so pretty … I wonder if it was built like that, or if the building was added on later._

Bickslow made a low noise of awe in his throat, pushing his sunglasses up to his forehead for a moment to get an unimpeded view, "What … what is that?"

Cana gave Bickslow an odd look, "It's a lighthouse. Haven't you ever seen one before?"

For once, Bickslow was too curious about the building in front of them to snipe at Cana, "No. What's a lighthouse?"

Both Cana and Rihanna stared at Bickslow in mild shock, though Rihanna quickly recovered from it to sigh softly, _of course he doesn't know what it is. It isn't as if Aternum had a lighthouse and he couldn't exactly spend time reading storybooks about other places that did have lighthouses now could he?_

Seeing the look Cana was giving him, Bickslow lowered his sunglasses back onto his nose and crossed his arms defensively, "Well, are you going to tell me what it is, or don't you know, Shark?"

Cana's gaping mouth clicked shut and she finally answered, "A lighthouse is a building set up on a cliffside or on shores near really rocky areas around big bodies of water, like an ocean or a lake. At night, the lighthouse keeper turns on a big light lacrima at the top of the tower there so that any ships sailing by will know that there's land over that way and to be careful."

She idly fiddled with her purse strap as she continued, "Magnolia may not be a port town like Hargeon, but for the non-mages living here, the fish trade is kinda a big deal. A really long time ago, the town had this lighthouse built because of the fishing trade. But a couple years ago the mayor had a new one commissioned to light up the port area since people hardly come by this shore anymore and so this one was put up for sale. Then Sandow-san bought it for him and his wife and made it into a house."

 _Huh. A lighthouse turned into an actual house. That's actually really cool._ Bickslow made a noise of understanding and Cana led them the rest of the way up the path, past several large boxes and pieces of furniture, to the front door. Cana knocked crisply on the old walnut door and a few moments later, it was opened by an elderly man with a receding hairline and squinting grey eyes. The man looked down at them and he started to smile, "Ah, Cana-chan, good afternoon. I see you've brought friends. Here for one more shogi game before I go?"

Cana practically beamed up at the old man, "Good afternoon, Sandow-san! Actually, I'm here to answer the job request you posted in the guild! I finally got Card Dimension working right, so I thought I could help."

Sandow-san chuckled faintly and patted Cana's hair, "Ah, I was hoping someone would come by to answer that request today. Well, thank you very much, Cana-chan, I'm sure you'll do a fine job. But that does not explain what these other two are doing here. Or who they are."

Cana blinked once, "Oh! Right." Turning, she waved a hand at Bickslow and Rihanna in turn, "These are two of my guild mates. You two, this is Sandow-san. Sandow-san, this is Wren-chan and Bickslow-kun, they're here to ask about possibly buying the house."

Sandow-san's squinting eyes crinkled even further as he gave them a broad smile, "Really now? Well, do come in." Sidestepping, he let them into the house, his smile dropping just long enough to give Bickslow a stern glower when it looked as if the boy would enter the house with his shoes on. After a staring match between the two and a hissed explanation from Cana, Bickslow sheepishly removed his shoes before entering the house.

Just through the small foyer where they left their shoes, the house opened up into a cozy living room. Most of the windows she'd seen decorating the sides of the house add-on seemed to be located in the living room, allowing sunlight to stream freely in and offer a beautiful view of Magnolia far below, sprawling out from the cliff.

By the windows were two highly overstuffed armchairs of a deep blue color while across from them hunched a dark blue couch long enough to accommodate three people. The couch was decorated with a few brightly beaded throw pillows and there was a thick, circular woven rug covering the center of the floor. A few lamps sat in various places around the room, offering to shed light from their perches on small circular tables and stands. On the far side of the room, an open doorway beckoned them deeper inside.

Sandow-san made a wide sweeping motion with one hand, "Feel free to look around. Some boys from town already helped me move all the things I wish to take with me out of doors, so anything in here that you see is what you get if you buy the house. Though, I must ask, aren't you two a bit young to be buying your own house? Don't your parents have anything to say on the matter?"

Bickslow scowled briefly at Sandow-san and Rihanna saw Cana wince at the mention of parents. Bickslow grunted, "Don't have any. That's why we're looking for a house. Gotta live somewhere don't we?"

Sandow-san, apparently sensing the soreness of the topic, carefully switched the topic to safer things, "Ah, well, while you two look around and see if you like what you see, how about I just go show Cana-chan what she'll be helping me bring with me to Hargeon Town? Come this way, Cana-chan."

Cana shot the two of them a vaguely unsure look, apparently not trusting Bickslow to not set something on fire with his curiously exploring tiki dolls. Rihanna made genial shooing motions at the girl, urging her to follow Sandow-san back outside. _It isn't as if we haven't performed this routine a hundred times before by now. Huh, and I thought house hunting in Chicago was bothersome. Oh well, at least the views in Magnolia are better than anything I could afford back there._ Following Bickslow through the doorway and into the short hallway, the two carefully started their inspection.

It was smaller than some of the other places they'd looked at, but Rihanna found herself liking it anyway. The bathroom was clean, the shower looked like it was in working order, and though the bedroom in the house add-on was clearly a rarely-used guest room, it was still respectably clean and neat. Going to the end of the short hallway connecting the add-on to the main lighthouse, they found that the bottom floor of the lighthouse had been converted into a kitchen and pantry. On one side of the wall, the stairs started, curling up the circular side of the interior to disappear into the next floor.

While Bickslow darted up the stairs to see the next room, Rihanna carefully inspected the kitchen. She opened the fridge to see if the interior was actually cold, checked the small freezer in the corner for the same thing, turned on the tap in the sink to make sure it worked, then inspected the oven as best she could without turning it on.

Finally satisfied that there was nothing glaringly wrong, Rihanna headed up the stairs to the next floor. This one had clearly been converted into a study of sorts, with specially built, but now woefully empty, bookshelves nailed to the walls and carpet in the space under the stairs showing signs of there having been furniture there, possibly a desk or another armchair for reading. Still, the carpet was thick and sound-dampening, and the small window slit in the far wall between two bookshelves let sunlight inside the otherwise potentially claustrophobic room.

Moving upstairs again, Rihanna found what had to be the master bedroom. The large bed was still there on the far right side, its sheets and blankets neatly made, as if waiting for its owner to return. _I wonder why he's not taking it with him. Not enough room in his new house? He took all of his books though. Maybe he's staying in his son's house instead of getting a new one of his own. It would explain why he's leaving most of the furniture._ There were more windows in this room than the previous two, one for each main point on a compass. Arranged around the small room was a nightstand and a wardrobe, with a ladder poking up from the center of the floor and rising up to a trapdoor which no doubt led to the observation deck.

 _Cozy. Not sure about a house with only one bedroom though_. _Then again, there's the guest room too, so I guess that really makes two bedrooms._ Rihanna glanced around the bedroom again, noting the small stove in the far corner from the stairs, identical to the others she'd noted in the lower floors. _So that's how the place is heated. I wonder if it's terribly expensive to use that much wood. Or do they use fire lacrima like in Edolas? Then again, how cold do Magnolia winters get?_

Pushing that thought away for the moment, Rihanna climbed up the ladder and through the already open trapdoor to the observation deck. As she'd suspected, Bickslow was already there, staring through the windows at the truly astounding view being so high up afforded them. Rihanna moved around the pedestal in the room that was presumably supposed to house the light lacrima to stand next to Bickslow and marvel.

She could see for **miles**. All around, the world stretched out below her in a sprawling vista. To one side was the lake, so massive she could barely see the mountains that made up its other shore, its blue waters glittering and rolling under the sunlight like a massive gemstone of some kind. To the right of the lake and slightly behind her, Rihanna could literally see all of Magnolia. She smiled to herself when she realized that Fairy Tail was in the section of town closest to the lighthouse, making the proud building easily identifiable to her even from the side.

To her left and behind was the mountainside and the rolling hills outside of Magnolia, even the tops of the tall trees failing to obscure her view of the land around. All in all, it gave her the impression of being some kind of bird, watching the world from high above, free of any minor troubles of inconveniences that might be found below.

Bickslow broke the almost reverent silence that had fallen over them, "Ne, Wren?" Rihanna looked over at him to see that Bickslow had taken off his sunglasses and was smiling an overawed smile, "This is the one."

Rihanna blinked, taken aback for a moment. Of all the houses they'd looked at, Bickslow wanted this one? Then she cocked her head to one side, weighing the pros and cons. Her contemplation was interrupted by Bickslow's soft plea, "Please, _Imōto_. Let's get this one. Don't you feel it? It feels safe." _…Safe?_

Rihanna looked around the observation deck again, trying to pinpoint why, out of all the other potential houses, Bickslow said that this one was the "safe" one. As her gaze lingered on Magnolia, she spotted the high belfries of the cathedral and it suddenly clicked.

Until Mest had rescued them from Aternum, the two of them had only had one true safe haven, the old belfry that served as their home. The old, **high** belfry from which they could watch the world come and go without risk of being seen in return. Down on the ground, or in amongst buildings, the two had always had to keep a wary lookout. But on the rooftops they'd been able to go mostly unnoticed, and in their belfry, they'd had guaranteed safety from malicious eyes.

 _Of course … that's why he said the other places didn't feel safe. They weren't up high!_ Rihanna tilted her head to one side, aware of Bickslow giving her a pleading look from her right. Just as she had let Bickslow turn down previous houses, she also had the right to potentially turn down this one.

But thinking it over, Rihanna found herself less and less inclined to say no. It was near enough to Fairy Tail to not be a hassle. It was private enough that they wouldn't be bothered and in turn wouldn't bother anyone with their training. It was cozy, it had all the rooms they'd need without being too cramped or too spacious, and the view was incredible.

Plus … Bickslow was giving her the puppy eyes, and as the, mentally, older sister, Rihanna just could not deny her brother **anything** when he was deigning to look so cute. Taking a deep breath, Rihanna pointed at the ladder and whistled, _"Let's go get it."_

For a moment, Bickslow actually looked confused, then realization dawned and his face split into a huge grin and his tikis started dancing in mid-air, " **Yes**! Thank's Wren! Come on!" Rihanna followed an eager Bickslow down the ladder, hoping that the house wasn't too expensive. While they'd saved up quite a large sum from their missions, Rihanna didn't like the thought of spending it all on just getting the house when it might need repairs later. Not to mention any furniture or other homely items that might need replacing.

 _Still, I can't exactly say no when he looks so happy about it._ Another thought popped into her mind and she chuckled silently to herself, _besides … he just might be right. This place feels safe to me too._

* * *

 **Japanese Translations: Ero-baka - idiot pervert.**


	16. Chapter 15: Her Boys

**Hi everyone! Just wanted to say, please read the Author's Note down below for a chapter warning!**

 **Review Response: Dear Dragon Lord Draco, greetings! Wow, thank you, I'm honored that my story comes under consideration! I'm leaning toward keeping the Laxus Arc, mostly because it has a lot of important character interaction and plot stuff ... but it would be pretty heavily changed from canon in some aspects I think. Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see. I've almost got the first one-shot finished, so hopefully that will be up soon!**

 **Dear clashingHeartsofChocolate, hello! Glad you liked it! I know ... I almost wanted to move into a lighthouse after writing that chapter myself. Alas, it is not to be... (perks up) Cookies? Did you say cookies? I can be bribed with cookies!**

 **Dear BizzyLizy, hi there! Ah, yes, the 'you're' and 'your' problem again. I've been trying to break that habit... I enjoy writing Cana and Bickslow, they're a lot of fun when thrown together. They give poor Wren a headache though. You're welcome, and thank you for reviewing!**

 **Dear Reptil, hello there! I have a list of Shadow Magic spells she will eventually learn/create, some of which are inspired by the great Shikamaru (tips imaginary hat to Shikamaru), but it will take some time for them to show up as I don't want her becoming one of those 'learns-everything-and-is-perfect-within-days-or-weeks' Mary-Sues. As for her eye magic, it will evolve to be more complicated, but that will take even longer than her Shadow Magic. It's hard to safely train one's ability to rip holes in space-time without, you know, making a permanent hole in space-time.**

 **Dear Guest, hi! Aw, glad you like it! It took forever to pick what kind of house I wanted them to have. Ah, Bickslow's and Cana's friendship/rivalry will be going places, methinks. They clash so beautifully. You bring up good points with Warren and hopefully you'll enjoy his appearance when he does show up. Not sure how Freed and Evergreen will get along with everyone at first, but I do have several plot notes involving their introduction. Hopefully it won't take too long to have them show up... I'm a slow writer. Enjoy the update!**

 **Author's Note: Okay, so, a certain character of unsavory repute shows up in this chapter and because of that, this chapter gets a warning. I don't think it's anywhere near M-rated, but for more imaginative people or (heaven forbid) people who have gone through something similar, I thought I should give a heads-up. Namely, this chapter has mentions/references/depictions of physical abuse, hidden under mental abuse. Like I said, I don't think it's anything too drastic or scary or anything like that, but then I've never had to face this kind of thing in real life on a regular (or even irregular) basis. Therefor, I leave this little "brace yourselves" notice. This isn't to scare people off, it's just to let people who are having a bad day or have had particularly bad experiences know to expect a bumpy ride in the latter half of this chapter. I do recommend reading it anyway though, as it has some VERY important character interaction and development. In other news, this chapter also features an adorable seven-year-old Levy who is looking to join the guild, so let's all give her a warm welcome to the insanity that is Fairy Tail!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my own OCs who are trying to steal my plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen - Her Boys**

 **(Two months, two weeks, three days since joining Guild)**

It was, by now, incredibly rare to see Bickslow, Rihanna, and Laxus separated when not at school or going to their respective homes for the night. Even then, it was rare, because the three somehow managed to gravitate towards each other almost instinctively. Either in the hallways between classes, or the rapidly increasing number of times when Laxus stayed in the guest room of Bickslow's and Rihanna's new home after a late evening training session with them.

Over the relatively short time since they'd met, the three were rapidly becoming the tribe their team name _Raijinshū_ implied. They took jobs together, they trained together, and when doing neither of the previous two things, they could often be found simply hanging out together. They were seen together so often that the other guild members were already able to classify who fulfilled what role.

Laxus was, usually, their designated leader and heavy hitter. He was the one who organized their training. He was the one who picked out jobs, though he made sure to clear the job with the other two first. He was the one who barked out orders in the frequent spurts of trouble that inevitably found them and was the one to deal out the most damage to their opponents with his lightning blasts.

Bickslow was the troublemaker and budding diversion specialist. While Laxus was the one who gave out orders in the fights, it was Bickslow who carried them out in a unique manner that often completely surprised whoever, or whatever, they were fighting. His tiki dolls were also invaluable at causing distractions or attacking from long range, their loud chittering and small fast forms making it very hard for their opponent to concentrate or keep up.

Though she didn't know it, Rihanna was actually the hardest of the _Raijinshū_ to categorize. By all rights, she should have simply been the backup or supporting member of the team. The one who helped out, but didn't really get into the thick of things because of her size, age, and lesser-known magic. In a sense, she was.

However, while she did mostly stay out of the direct line of fire, Rihanna was not so much the team support, as the team trickster. She was a literal shadow weaving in and out of corners to strike from unexpected angles with a hard shadow slap, or a tripping tendril of condensed darkness. Rarely seen, never caught, not even when she got physical with a sharp kick to an opponent's knees of ankles. While Laxus and Bickslow were the heavy hitters, their blunt force and their bedeviling long-range fire, Rihanna was their **edge**. The thing no one ever expected and couldn't see coming until it was too late.

But, she was also the one who broke up any rising arguments, kept Bickslow from insulting their clients too badly, and generally ensured that the other two didn't destroy anything too important during their jobs. Despite being mute, she was their voice of reason, and even thought she was the youngest by several years, many guild members had noticed the glint of intelligence in her eyes, the flicker of wisdom beyond her physical years that enabled her to handle Laxus's and Bickslow's particular brand of Fairy Tail chaos.

So it was really no surprise that when trouble struck that day, it found the three of them together. What was the surprise was **where** the trouble struck and what form it took.

* * *

The moment she walked into the guild, Rihanna noticed something different in the air. There was no brawl happening at the moment, but instead of being scattered lazily around the guild hall like was the norm for a non-brawl afternoon, everyone was gathered around the bar, talking eagerly and focused on some point she couldn't see through the throng. _Wonder what this is all about. A new member maybe?_ Looking over his shoulder, Mest spotted them come in and jogged over to them eagerly, "Laxus! There you are! Your father's home!"

Laxus's face immediately split into an eager smile, his eyes lighting up with happiness that completely opposed the icy cold feeling now beginning to grip Rihanna's insides. _Wait. Laxus's father. That would be-!_ Laxus grabbed one of Rihanna's and Bickslow's hands with his own and proceeded to drag them into the throng, yelling excitedly, "Come on! You two are going to love my dad!" _No. No I'm not. He's a creep and a bad guy who tries to use his own son as a stepping stone to power and beats up his guild members for failing! He's a traitor to Fairy Tail!_

As Laxus worked his way through the throng, a reluctant Rihanna and a confused Bickslow still in tow, Rihanna tried to reason with herself. _Okay, calm down, Rihanna. He might not be evil … yet. I mean, look at how eager Laxus is to see him! Surely he can't be all that bad if Laxus loves him so much. There's got to be a reason for that love, right?_ Still trying to convince herself not to either freak out or try to strangle Laxus's father the moment she saw him, Rihanna suddenly found herself in a bubble of space at the center of the crowd.

Laxus practically crowed at the man with black curly hair who was talking to a broadly smiling Makarov, "Dad, you're home! Welcome back!"

The man turned and Rihanna felt the cold gripping her insides clench a little tighter at her first look at Ivan Dreyar, father of Laxus and traitor to Fairy Tail. In an instant, Rihanna remembered all the things she'd seen him do or made others do.

Wendy's and Carla lying oh-so-still on the ground, drained of magic because of that gremlin thing he'd sent after them. Wendy's nightmares because of that unprovoked attack. Gray being deliberately targeted by the short, purple-spiked mage for no reason other than petty revenge. Lucy's brutal treatment at the hands of Flare. The threatening of a tiny, innocent child with mutilation by **fire** to facilitate Lucy's brutal treatment. The bruises and terror Flare had been shown with after having almost lost the fight with Lucy. The fight between Laxus and Raven Tail, during which Ivan had had the nerve to first demand information that belonged solely to the Masters of Fairy Tail, then to try to kill, or at least maim, his own son, and then finally to beg for **loyalty** from that son when Laxus had proven why he was an S-Class mage almost without peer.

They were, truthfully, such little things at the moment. Glimpses of a future that honestly might not happen. But now, looking at the adoring smile of the boy she'd come to know and trust, knowing what could happen, probably **would** happen, all because of this man's greed and cruelty…

Rihanna felt something ugly rise up inside her, thick and harsh and choking and she briefly wondered if this was what bloodlust felt like. Because never, not even in the face of Aternum's ever-present cruelty, had she wanted to strangle someone with her shadows like she did at the sight of that man.

"Ow, Wren-chan, easy on the grip." Laxus's slightly pained but humor-laced words snapped Rihanna out of her staring and she looked at him in surprise before apologetically loosening her grip. Laxus nodded from her to Ivan, unaware of the true source of Rihanna's stiffness, "Dad, these are Wren-chan and Bickslow-kun, they're my new teammates."

Ivan smiled at them, a wide, pearly-toothed smile that should have been perfectly friendly but made Rihanna want to flinch away on instinct, "Is that so? Well, its nice to meet you, Wren-chan, Bickslow-kun. It's nice to see that my son has finally found such wonderful allies his age."

 _He said allies. Not friends._ Laxus finally let go of Rihanna's and Bickslow's hands in order to gesture slightly as he asked, "How was your mission, dad?"

Ivan chuckled, a deep baritone sound, "It went well. No criminal can stand up to the might of a proper Fairy Tail mage. The weakling did not stand a chance against my magic!" Laxus made a noise of appreciation and Rihanna felt vaguely sick. She wondered suddenly if this man was the reason Laxus was so obsessed with "strength" in the Fantasia Arc. It would make sense she supposed, what with him being the boy's father. Ivan ruffled Laxus's hair with a hand, "How has your schooling been coming along in my absence, Laxus? Keeping up with the training regimen I set up?"

Laxus hesitated, just the barest hitch of his shoulders between one breath and the next and Rihanna's already screaming paranoia sensed trouble, "Well … not the entire regimen. I've had to cut back so that Bickslow-kun and Wren-chan can keep up with me. I've also been really busy helping them with their magic since they're so new to the guild … but they're catching up fast! I'll be doing the full regimen again in no time!"

Perhaps it was her imagination, perhaps it was because she was watching for it, but Rihanna was sure she saw something dark flicker through Ivan's gaze before the smile was back full force and he was clapping Laxus on the shoulder, "Well, you and I will have to have a spar this evening when I get home to make sure your skills haven't gotten **too** rusty, ne?"

Again, there was the barest hitch, the faintest faltering in Laxus's posture, before he pushed on with smiles and agreements. Rihanna felt like the cold was crushing her insides by this point, she could barely stand to look Ivan without being beset by suspicions, memories, and burning desires to get the man away from Laxus. She kept herself rooted to the spot, determined not to say or do anything that would come off as rude, trying to convince herself to give him the benefit of the doubt…

Then Ivan took a step toward Bickslow, hand rising in what was probably going to be a handshake but to Rihanna's spinning mind came across as a threat. She didn't know when she crossed the three-step distance between herself and her brother. She only knew that she was suddenly standing in Ivan's way, arms flung out protectively and shadowy tendrils weaving over her arms and around her body like living whips, their tips honed to dangerous points. One such tendril whipped out and slapped Ivan's outstretched hand with its flat side, the smack of shadow hitting flesh ringing out loudly in the suddenly silent guild hall.

Several gasps of surprise rose and many guild members shuffled back in shock at Rihanna's blatant display of aggression while Laxus shouted in surprised horror, "Wren-chan!"

Behind her, Bickslow made a puzzled noise and started to grab Rihanna's shoulder only to have a tendril gently nudge it away and push him back. Rihanna locked eyes with Ivan, using her gaze and her writhing shadows to convey what her lips could not, _"Stay away from my brother. Stay away or I'll hurt you."_

Ivan took a step back, his eyes wide with surprise as he rubbed his slapped hand and Laxus tried angrily to lecture Rihanna. Mest broke through the now-whispering throng, his placating tones breaking marginally through the roaring sound in Rihanna's ears, "Ah, I'm so sorry, Ivan-san, please forgive her. Wren-chan's been on the streets since she was very young and the people of her hometown … weren't very caring to either her or her brother. She's extremely wary of any adult stranger she meets is all. She doesn't mean any harm."

During his excuses on Rihanna's behalf, Mest had slowly maneuvered his hands through her waving shadows to rest them securely on her shoulders, an anchor amid her whirling thoughts and rising hatred. Rihanna took a deep breath as Mest squeezed her shoulders comfortingly and said, "Come on, Wren-chan. Ivan-san is one of our most respected members. You can trust him. He's the Master's son and Laxus's father, you trust those two don't you? So you can trust him too, I promise."

 _No, I can't. Not after what I've seen, not when I know how badly he can hurt the people I care about! How badly he can hurt them just for the fun of it!_ She wanted so desperately to yell those words, to scream out his sins for all the guild to hear and tell them not to trust him. But she couldn't. She was mute. Even if she could have screamed all those things, she was physically just a child, a child everyone would assume was simply afraid because of her traumatic past.

Rihanna swallowed hard, reining in the urge to attack Ivan with her shadows with some difficulty. Slowly, the shadows reverted to harmless two-dimensional constructs at her feet and Mest pulled her gently away from Ivan, passing her over to a worried Bickslow while Ivan laughed off her reaction and Laxus stared at her in puzzlement.

She didn't resist as Bickslow pulled her out of the crowd and to a private corner of the guild hall, didn't protest when he carefully sat her down and wrapped his arms around her. Pappa, Pippi, and Puppu swirled a slow defensive circle around them as Bickslow asked softly, "Wren, what was that? Why did you do that? He's Laxus's dad and Laxus trusts him. I mean, sure he must be kinda crazy to come up with that training schedule Laxus has been throwing at us, but he doesn't … he doesn't seem all that bad."

Rihanna took deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves even as Laxus suddenly slipped out of the crowd and also made his way over to sit on the bench next to her, "Wren-chan? Got an explanation?" _Yeah, you're dad is an evil man who wants to use you for his own ends and will betray this guild and his own family all for the promise of power, probably giving you a debilitating superiority/inferiority complex in the process._

The silence stretched between the three as Rihanna looked silently from Laxus, to Bickslow, to Ivan and the rest of the guild. She struggled inwardly with how to respond or explain. Laxus seemed to trust his father, yet … yet something told Rihanna that the trust and love was not as deep and easy as Laxus made it out to be. Perhaps it was her paranoia and natural hatred of Ivan from when he had been a mere anime character, but she couldn't just take Laxus at his word. She didn't want that man near her friends, especially not her brother or Laxus, the one boy he could do irreparable damage to with just a few words.

Finally, Rihanna twisted around to look fully at Bickslow, her index finger lightly tapping the bridge of his sunglasses before pointing at Ivan. Bickslow made a noise of dawning comprehension and whispered, "You … you don't trust him. You don't trust Ivan-san. Like, really, **really** don't trust him and not just because he's a stranger." Rihanna simply replied with a serious stare and a repeat of the gesture. Her desire was easily understood by her adoptive sibling of three years, _"What does he look like? What are his colors?"_

Wordlessly, Bickslow shifted his head so that he could stare at Ivan. A few moment's later his brow furrowed and he sighed, "Sorry, _Imōto_ , I can't get a good look at him. There are too many people crowded around."

Laxus interjected, his voice tense and confused, "Why would you try reading his aura anyway? He's my **dad** , and a proud member of Fairy Tail. You can trust him. I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of this Wren-chan."

Rihanna could feel Bickslow's muscles stiffen faintly before he replied softly to Laxus, "Being your dad doesn't make him automatically trustworthy, Laxus."

Laxus bristled, "What do you mean it doesn't? Of course it does! He'd never hurt me, or any of you! You're my friends! Dads don't do that!"

Rihanna felt glad for once that the other guild members were distracted by all of their goodnatured banter and talking. Too distracted to hear Laxus's shout. Too distracted to hear Bickslow's soft, unflinchingly grim reply of, "Mine did."

Rihanna wrapped her fingers around Bickslow's arms and squeezed gently in a show of comfort while Laxus recoiled as if he'd been struck, his eyes wide with dawning realization and regret at his thoughtless words, "I … I'm sorry, Bickslow."

Bickslow didn't acknowledge Laxus's apology, for once didn't snarl at the words that could be mistaken as pity. He simply held Rihanna tighter and murmured, "I don't trust anyone who hasn't proved they're worth it first. Normally I'd try to give them a chance but … I've known Wren for years, I **trust** her. So if she thinks there's something wrong with someone, or that someone is untrustworthy, I believe her."

Laxus scowled, "Well, I say he's fine! Don't you trust me?"

Bickslow didn't answer, he simply turned his head away and Rihanna felt her heart twist slightly at the look of raw hurt that flashed over Laxus's face. The hurt quickly vanished under a wall of anger and Laxus snarled, "Well, fine then." He stood up sharply and started walking away.

Bickslow loosed one arm from around Rihanna to reach out to Laxus as he passed, something strangely vulnerable lacing through his tone, "O-oi, where are you going?"

Laxus dodged the outstretched arm and called over his shoulder bitingly, "To go hang out with my dad. I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable with such an **untrustworthy** person sitting next to your precious sister and all."

Bickslow let go of Rihanna fully, standing up as he called, "Wait, that's not what I-!" Laxus had already disappeared into the throng and Bickslow sat down slowly, not pursuing the angry boy, "That's not what I meant…"

 _Oh no. I really did it this time didn't I?_ Rihanna winced at the guilt that settled in her stomach, whispering that she was to blame for the sudden fight between Bickslow and Laxus. If she'd just been better at hiding her dislike and distrust of Ivan, then this wouldn't have happened. Bickslow had enough trouble making friends without having to experience someone stomping away in anger like that. Bickslow would have no idea that it was just temporary, that Laxus was only hurt and confused and needed time to calm down before being apologized to.

As far as Bickslow knew, walking away meant abandonment, and abandonment was permanent.

Bickslow made a low noise in his throat, something akin to a wounded snarl, and abruptly stood up again. Not looking back, Bickslow stomped out of the guild building, Rihanna trailing unhappily at his heels. As soon as Bickslow had cleared the guild building, he broke out into a run down the street. His tikis chittered and whined as they suddenly shot up into the air over the rooftops, Bickslow following with ever-startling speed and agility.

Other people on the streets yelped in surprise as he lunged upward, grabbing the side of an old brick wall and scaling it like a squirrel would a tree before swinging to an awning and from there to the gutter on the edge of the tiled roof. He shot up the slope of the roof until he reached the spine, then from there took off toward another roof, his feet balancing with the ease of many years of practice.

Rihanna scrambled to follow him, afraid to leave Bickslow alone when he was in such a mood. Unwilling to waste the time it would take to climb up as Bickslow had, Rihanna shifted into Shadow Form and reached out for the shadow of a passing cloud, tugging on the velvet roughly until it gave way to a deeper darkness that she could pass through. Cold sensations chilled her arms and raised goosebumps while the door behind her eyes twinged faintly.

For a split second, she couldn't see anything. Not her destination, not Magnolia all around, not even herself, just the total cold darkness all around. The world became a black, soundless void that chilled every inch of her skin despite her clothing and threatened to drown her in just how endlessly dark it was.

Then she took a single, firm step and the world was greyscale again, the budding summer heat pressing down on her skin and chasing away the chill that had threatened to sink down into her bones. The tilt in the ground under her feet, combined with the sudden rush of visual and audial sensory data made her stumble for a moment before regaining her balance and dropping out of Shadow Form to resume chasing after Bickslow.

Bickslow ran for a long time, leaping from rooftop to rooftop with the same ease other people strolled down the street. Rihanna followed close behind, not knowing where they were going, but determined to follow all the same. When they finally stopped, it was because they had run out of rooftops to run across. Bickslow slowly dropped into a sitting position on the spine of the last roof, his chest rising and falling in faint pants as he recovered from sprinting so far. Rihanna slid into a sitting position next to him, her breathing noticeably more ragged because of her smaller size and thus, lower endurance level.

With shaking hands, Bickslow pulled his sunglasses off of his face and turned them around to stare at them. His face scrunched up unhappily and he abruptly pulled his arm back as if to throw the offending item away. Calmly, Rihanna reached out and grabbed his wrist, preventing him from throwing away the sunglasses. Bickslow jerked faintly in surprise at her touch before looking down at her.

Slowly, Rihanna shook her head, indicating that he shouldn't throw away the sunglasses Laxus had helped him get after reading about safety measures for mages with eye magic. Bickslow's mouth twisted downward even as he slowly lowered the sunglasses into his lap. For several minutes, they just sat there, Bickslow fiddling moodily with the sunglasses and Rihanna gripping one of his wrists comfortingly with a hand.

Eventually, Bickslow broke the silence, "I do trust him. I do. I wouldn't let him spar with you if I didn't. I wouldn't let him **touch** you if I didn't trust him. But that doesn't mean…" He sighed heavily before glancing at Rihanna miserably, "What do I do, _Imōto_? I know you have a reason for reacting to Laxus's dad the way you did, but he won't listen and you can't tell me. Not … not the details anyway."

Rihanna felt her heart twist in her chest at his dejected tone, he really had no idea what to do. Rihanna squeezed his wrist comfortingly before letting go and using both hands to help communicate in their semi-private language, _"Talk to him."_

Bickslow cocked his head slowly to one side, "But … but he didn't listen last time. He ran away. He went to go be with … with his dad." There was an underlying bitterness in those words, a venom that she had no doubt came from memories of his own parents.

With a faint sigh, Rihanna signed and whistled, _"Wait for him to cool. Then talk to him. He'll listen."_

Bickslow glanced at her, his eyes flickering green briefly before he settled down slightly, "If you say so, Wren." Rihanna nodded firmly and silence fell over them again for a few moments. Then, Bickslow asked tentatively, "Do you … want to do something? While we wait for Laxus to calm down, I mean."

Rihanna nodded her assent to the idea and Bickslow stood up, idly taking her hand as he scanned the rooftop world of Magnolia, obviously looking for something to do. Chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully, Bickslow suggested, "A … game?" Rihanna nodded agreeably again and Bickslow continued to worry his bottom lip in contemplation, "Hmm, what could we play…"

An idea flickered through Rihanna's mind and she suppressed a grin. Carefully, she extracted her hand from Bickslow's grip and, when he looked down at her questioningly, poked him on the forehead cheekily with a forefinger before promptly bounding off. It took a few seconds of her dashing across the rooftops before Bickslow figured out her game and chased after her with a whoop, "Oi! No fair making me 'it' when I wasn't ready! Come back here!"

The game of rooftop tag that followed was exhilarating, dangerous, and probably a bit crazy. Rihanna felt no guilt in using her Shadow Magic to gain an edge in the game, just as Bickslow had no qualms sending his tiki dolls after her. They whirled back and forth across the warm tiles, exchanging the title of "it" several times over the course of the game before it somehow migrated down onto the streets and the real chaos began.

They stumbled across Cana towards the later half of their game. The Card Mage was talking to and showing around an adorable little girl with loose blue curls who looked vaguely familiar to Rihanna. Of course, she had no time to ponder the girl's familiarity or ask for her identity because, upon spotting them, Bickslow decided that they were fair prey for the game.

Rihanna personally thought that nailing Cana with a full body tackle into the canal while screaming "you're it!" was a bit much. But hey, it garnered two more members for the game and no one got hurt, so who was she to complain? Of course, Rihanna and the newcomer eventually had to duck for cover when Bickslow's taunts and dodges finally drove Cana to attack him with her magic card explosive combo.

Rihanna finally called a stop to the game hours after she had first started it when Cana's cards and Bickslow's tiki dolls set fire to a store awning, gouged holes in two walls, and obliterated the window of a nearby house. Panting and laughing, Bickslow dodged Cana's halfhearted hand swipe, "Not bad, _Same-boke_! You almost had me there … not!"

Cana hid her own laughter under a faint snarl, her clothing mostly dried from chasing Bickslow around in the sunshine, "What did you think you were doing, Bicks _aho_? I was trying to make a good impression on Levy-chan!"

 _Levy?_ Rihanna looked over sharply at the blue-haired seven-year-old standing next to her. The girl in question shuffled shyly, " _A-ano_ … I, actually, enjoyed that … just now. You … you all seem like fun." _She thinks_ ** _that_** _was fun? … Oh yeah, she's going to fit in just fine once she joins._

Bickslow turned and hesitantly smiled at Levy from behind his sunglasses, his mouth opening to say something, only for him to suddenly stop short. His head tilted as if he was looking past her, his entire body going rigid for a split second before he swore explosively and took off down the road that led out of town, his tikis shrieking a high-pitched note Rihanna had learned the meaning of on jobs when things went wrong.

One of the _Raijinshū_ was in danger. And only one of them was not currently accounted for. _Laxus!_

* * *

Bickslow ran like he was back in Aternum, trying to escape a particularly persistent slaver. His arms pumped frantically at his sides as he took corners at break-neck speed to get to his destination. His tikis shot ahead of him, their high pitched alarm shriek dying out in favor of focusing on pure speed.

Ahead of him, beyond the buildings and the diluting effect of other people's auras, was a blazing beacon he had come to know very well over the past few weeks. The ever-swirling knot of colors that made up Laxus's aura flickered and surged in a way Bickslow had seen a thousand times when the blond boy was practicing his magic or fighting.

But that wasn't what had him running like death itself was on his heels. What had him running was the dark, towering aura nearby and the gut-wrenching amounts of two colors Bickslow never, ever wanted to see in his friend's aura. The vibrant lime green of fear, and the sallow yellow with its rotting pink edges of pain.

As Bickslow sprinted ever closer, the other aura started to show itself more clearly, its colors only spurring Bickslow on to further frantic running. Rippling ink mottled and oozed into the colors of greed, anger, and pride like stains on a once fine cloth. Here and there, hidden amid the other colors but still visible to Bickslow's practiced eye, were drops of murderous blood red, signs of someone who had intentionally killed another human being.

But the red was not diluted with the mournful storm grey of grief that came from regret or shame, it flashed in Bickslow's vision like gaudy medals. Mocking tokens of a man who felt no shame in what he had done, no grief in the taking of a life.

Not a man Bickslow wanted anywhere near his sister or his best friend. Not now, not ever. Especially not when the surging of the tainted aura heralded the growth of Laxus's sickening color of pain.

At some point, Bickslow wasn't sure when, he had left Magnolia's outskirts behind and started plunging into the surrounding forest and hills, his Figure Eyes guiding him unerringly toward his goal. Trees thinned rapidly as he was guided away from the depths of the forest and out toward the many hidden strips of beach that surrounded the massive lake. His heart hammered loudly in his ears, his lungs burning and legs begging for respite after a tiring game of tag followed by his desperate charge. Bickslow stubbornly ignored all those things, ignored the headache building behind his eyes from overexerting himself. Ignored the spasm in his left leg that threatened to send him tumbling. Ignored the branches of bushes that came too close and swatted scoldingly at his cheeks and bare arms.

He arrived at his destination abruptly, with seemingly no transition from journey to goal. But perhaps that was because the first sight to greet his eyes and the first sound other than his own panting to reach his ears was Laxus stumbling back with a cry of pain. Laxus's arms were flung over his face protectively, his lightning skittering in wild, uncontrolled bursts down his arms and legs in an attempt to ward off the flying slips of white that zipped around him like angry bees.

It took barely a thought to send his tikis whirling into the fray, their lasers incinerating the slips of white en masse as his three magic constructs screamed the rage his beleaguered lungs currently couldn't. Not slowing, Bickslow barreled into Laxus, dragging him forcibly farther away from his attacker before whirling to face the source of the tainted aura, arms up to defend against the threat.

He faltered for a split second when he saw Ivan Dreyar, Laxus's dad whom he had just met that afternoon, standing on the opposite side of the small beach. The man's eyes were wide with surprise very similar to what Bickslow felt even as Bickslow's tikis finished off the last of the white slips and swirled into a defensive formation around him. Then Ivan smiled a warm, friendly smile that was at complete odds with his aura and Bickslow's surprise melted away under the heat of his sudden rage. The man who dared call himself Laxus's father lifted a hand in a calming gesture, "Well, well … Bickslow-kun, wasn't it? What brings you out here this fine evening?"

Bickslow ignored all formalities, abandoned all pretenses of politeness as all of his hatred and mistrust for adults came flooding back and honed in on the man before him, "You're not hurting Laxus again! I won't let you!"

From behind Laxus made a strained noise, "Bickslow, what do you think you're doing?"

Bickslow clenched his jaw even as confusion flickered through him, "Protecting you! What else?"

Ivan laughed in an easygoing manner, but Bickslow saw the darker patches of anger starting to grow in time to the growth of the lie colors, "It seems your friend has misunderstood the situation, son! You see, Bickslow-kun, Laxus and I are just sparring. It's … our way of bonding, father and son. Isn't that right, Laxus?"

"R-right." Shock at Laxus's answer had Bickslow looking incredulously away from Ivan and to where Laxus was shakily picking himself up. Laxus was bleeding from at least a hundred cuts and deep incisions running up and down his limbs, allowing blood to trickle and flow so freely it was staining his clothing, and what little unmarred skin he had, a vibrant red. He was heavily favoring his right side, his left eye was shut and under the small dribble of blood running down it from a cut on his forehead, Bickslow could see that the eyelid was already turning an unhealthy purple color.

As if those weren't enough indicators of just how badly Laxus was hurt, Bickslow could still see copious amounts of the pain color swirling amid his aura. There was so much of the color it almost completely drowned out what remained of Laxus's normal colors, the rest vanishing under his fear and an unfamiliar color Bickslow instinctively loathed.

Bickslow bared his teeth as he hissed, "Right? What do you mean 'right'? He's attacking you!" _No,_ a cold little voice in Bickslow's mind whispered, _this isn't even an attack. This is … this is a beating. This is just like_ ** _them_** _._

Laxus shook his head stubbornly, forcing himself to stand up straighter, "No, he's not. We're sparring. Just like he promised we would this afternoon when you met him. You know, before you and Wren ran off like anti-social jerks."

Something warred inside Bickslow and, even though he couldn't see his own aura, he knew that it was becoming overrun with the colors of hatred and rage. His tikis moved to keep him covered in case Ivan attacked even as Bickslow turned to fully face Laxus, "This is not sparring! **This** ," he motioned from Laxus's injuries to the unscathed Ivan, "this is a **beating** , and I am **not** letting him hurt you any more!"

Laxus's fear spiked alongside the other, unknown and unwanted color, "He's making me stronger! This is training! If I get hurt, it's because I'm not good enough yet, too **weak** , and need more training to make me strong! To make me worthy of being a member of Fairy Tail!"

Bickslow's voice almost cracked under the strain of his emotion and volume, "No, it's not! What you do with Wren and me is training! This is **nothing** like what we do! **Nothing**!"

Laxus started to yell something back, but Bickslow cut him off angrily, "How can you stand there and agree with him? You are not weak! You have never been weak! Would a weak mage be able to save my sister's life? Would a weak mage be able to shrug off Figure Eyes within minutes? Would a weak mage be able to do all the things you've taught me to do and can still beat me at?"

Bickslow's fists clenched as his voice rose, "And since when do you need to be 'worthy' of Fairy Tail? Wren and I are nowhere near as strong as you and Makarov-jiji still let us join! Ivan's not training you! He's beating you! He's **using** you! Punishing you because he **hates** you!"

Laxus's eyes were glistening with unshed tears, "No … no, liar! Liar!"

Bickslow started to shout again when his tikis shrieked and several things whipped across his cheek and his arms, bringing with them stinging pain and the feeling of liquid dribbling down his skin. Bickslow whirled, cursing internally as he realized that he'd forgotten to keep a ear on Ivan. The man was no longer smiling. His eyes had, in fact, gone as hard and cold as his seething aura. Bickslow felt fear crawl up his throat as he realized he'd gone too far.

He knew exactly what Ivan really was, and for that, Ivan now hated him. The black was growing, providing a perfect backdrop for the rising droplets of blood. Ivan suddenly smiled again, but it was not his fake, warm smile, it was hard as ice and held the sharp edge of danger that made Bickslow's insides squirm with fear, "It would seem, **boy** , that no one has ever taught you proper respect for your elders and betters. I will just have to correct that **oversight** , now won't I?" Ivan tilted his right palm so that it was facing the sky and the things whipped past him again, drawing a startled cry and more blood from Bickslow on their way to orbit above Ivan's palm. Suddenly more and more of the white slips started forming above his palm, joining the bloodstained ones in a twisting, rustling oval. Realization and surprise flickered through Bickslow even as he winced. _Paper. He uses Paper Magic. That's how he inflicted those cuts!_

Laxus shouted and tried to move out from behind Bickslow, "Dad! No, please wait! He didn't mean it! I swear he didn't mean it!" The fear was evident in his voice now and Bickslow felt his own growing accordingly. If Laxus, one of the strongest, if not the strongest, mage he knew was terrified and helpless before this man, then what chance did he have?

Guilt-formed inhibitions dissolved under the force of fear and Bickslow reached up a hand frantically to remove his sunglasses just as a veritable whirlwind of sharp-edged doll-shaped paper went hurtling toward him.

The throng was too thick for his tikis to destroy in time, and it was moving at such a speed Bickslow knew he'd be lucky if Pippi, his fastest tiki, would be able to launch even a single shot before it hit, let alone buy him enough time to remove his sunglasses and make eye contact with Ivan.

Instinctively, Bickslow moved so that he was more firmly between Laxus and the oncoming attack and braced for pain-

Then black of such an abyssal quality it literally froze the air ripped into existence and obliterated the paper storm and a portion of the beach between Ivan and the two boys. Ivan recoiled with a roar of fright and surprise. The black hole had exploded into being closer to him than Bickslow and thus forced the man to back up or risk frostbite.

The hole shrunk to the size of a coin, but that did not make the cold decrease. Instead, the temperature continued to sink the longer the abyssal hole seethed and pulsed there on the beach. Bickslow exhaled sharply in shock, his breath coming out as a puff of white frost, at the sight of the hole. _Wren…?_ Sure enough, his sister stalked slowly onto the beach, the faint shaking in her hands serving as the only sign of strain from keeping the black hole open.

Bickslow barely noticed his sister's shaking hands, or Ivan's sputtered demands to know what was going on. All he could do was stare at the transformed state of his sister's aura. Blazing rage red hissed and snapped, curling with the color of hatred and leaping like a bonfire on the coals of the ever-mysterious dark green and an inconspicuous yet powerful powder blue emotion. It was like a pure contradiction in emotions. The rage and hatred were so powerful it made him want to shy away from his own little sister, while the powder blue and dark green mix made him feel oddly … safe. Even with the seething black hole just on the edges of their designated safe distance, those colors made him know instinctively that no more harm would come to him.

Wren's eyes swept over the scene, lingering on Laxus and Bickslow and he had to withhold the urge to flinch. He knew that Wren's eyes changed when her eye magic was in use, it was something all eye magic did. But he had never had a chance to get a really good look at the color, as anywhere except directly behind or otherwise outside Wren's peripheral vision was considered a potential danger zone during practice. Now he got a good look and felt a visceral terror, illogical and barely suppressible, roll down his spine.

All traces of warm hazel were gone from Wren's eyes now. There was only a black identical to her black holes. A black so deep it became indescribable … and a thin ring of murderous red that shone with an inner light, as if it was fueled by Wren's own aura. The terrifying appearance of her eyes was only enhanced by the stone-like mask her face had become, no fear, no rage, nothing. Just a cold mask of sheer, total, ice.

Swallowing hard to loosen the sudden lump in his throat, Bickslow whispered, "Wren? _Imōto_?" _Are you still in there?_ Eerie eyes rested on him for a moment and the mask briefly faltered, showing a multitude of conflicting emotions until the black hole in the beach threatened to grow in size and the mask slammed back into place again. Without any whistles or signals of reassurance whatsoever, Wren strode to the center of the beach, fearlessly standing just behind her black hole, between it and Bickslow, facing the gaping Ivan.

Wren was his little sister, the one he loved and protected to the best of his ability. She was his peacekeeper and his common sense, Bickslow knew that. Had seen it countless times even when she was angry. She was sweet, sensible, and never one to hold a grudge despite her hot flashes of temper. She was his **baby sister** for Magic's sake.

But in that moment, Bickslow could see none of that. He only saw cold eyes, and the steady intrusion of colors he never wanted to see in Wren's aura. Colors that he knew could easily destroy the sister he loved and leave behind nothing but a dark and twisted shell.

* * *

Rihanna locked gazes with a startled Ivan and struggled with all of her might to keep her self-control from snapping and using her dōjutsu to simply erase the man in front of her from reality. It was incredibly, incredibly hard and most of her sincerely doubted it was worth it.

He had hurt Laxus. He had hurt Bickslow. **He had hurt her boys**.

When Bickslow had run off, she had followed as fast as she could because Laxus was very likely in trouble and they had to help him. She had thought she knew what to expect, she had thought she was prepared to help in her normal, mostly unobtrusive way like always. She had thought she was prepared for whatever she'd see upon catching up with Bickslow. She had been so very wrong.

The first thing she had seen when finally catching up to Bickslow was the almost innumerable cuts lacing Laxus's body, the way he favored one of his sides, and his developing black eye. The second thing she had seen was Bickslow's bleeding cheek and arms and the expression of terror on his face as he placed himself between Laxus and an oncoming attack while Laxus pleaded for Ivan to leave Bickslow alone.

Laxus shouldn't plead. Not in that fearful, plaintive tone that threatened to wrench her heart out of her chest. It went completely against everything she knew of his character. Laxus was a proud boy, he was a boy who knew what he wanted and if he had to ask for anything, did so politely but with an air of confidence around him that made his smiles genuine and his laughter loud.

He did not beg. He did not cower. He did not look on in terror while someone launched a massive, potentially lethal, utterly uncalled-for attack at him while Bickslow, her precious brother, stood trembling in the way.

Especially when that someone was Laxus's **father**.

She had barely even processed those sights before her gaze had switched to the hurtling mass of paper and the door in her mind had cracked open under the sheer force of her rage. The black hole had snapped open in the middle of the paper mass, ripping apart the attack and sending the temperature rocketing down until it almost matched the depth of her cold fury. Almost.

Ivan shifted, trying to stand tall and outstare the seeming six-year-old on the other side of the tiny, rippling black hole, "You- You possess eye magic…" His voice grated on her ears, his words and tone not mattering as much as the fact that the scum dared to vocalize in her presence when she was already struggling with the urge to kill him.

The chill in the air deepened as a voice, an urge, whispered through her mind. _Kill him_ , the voice whispered, _destroy him for what he's done. Punish him for his sins._ Rihanna clenched her jaw, her fists clenching as shadows suddenly rippled and curled at her feet like fireless smoke. The strain on her magic grew, but somehow it did not become unbearable, Rihanna's rage did not let it become unbearable.

 _You should kill him,_ the voice hissed again, _kill him for hurting your boys! Kill him!_ Rihanna took a deep breath through her nose, _I want to. Oh, how I want to._ Something in her gaze, her expression, must have revealed her thoughts because Ivan went very, very pale. He was visibly shaking now, his breath coming out in rapid puffs of mist as he tried to rally and intimidate her, "Stop it, girl. Stop that spell right now!" Rihanna's only response was to keep glaring, letting the full depth of her fury show through her eyes. Ivan swallowed hard and abruptly changed tactics, "This … this is all just a misunderstanding! Shut down that … that spell and I will explain everything to you! Yes … yes, this is all just a misunderstanding caused by how young and inexperienced you are in the world. You do not understand that in order to properly prepare a child for the world, a parent must sometimes discipline them rather … harshly. But only because-"

Rihanna took a single half step forward and blinked once, her current black hole snapping shut at the blink only for another one, just as small as the first, to rip into existence a half step closer to Ivan. _Inexperienced? Harsh?_ ** _Parent_** _? You are not a parent, you sick piece of trash! You are nothing but a twisted little_ ** _insect_** _. A parasite. How Makarov cannot see that is beyond me, but I am not so blind._

Rihanna remembered Laxus's faint hesitations during his conversation in the guild hall with his father. She remembered Laxus's anger, the flicker of doubt she'd seen right before he'd stormed off. She remembered all the cuts littering his body right now and the mass of razor-edged paper that had rushed toward her boys with the clear, palpable intent to hurt. _Kill him._ The voice whispered again, growing stronger the longer the standoff lasted and for one long second, Rihanna reached mentally for her door with the intent to do just that.

Then Bickslow's voice came from behind her, shaking and small and **scared** in a way that hurt far more than anything she'd ever heard before, "Wren, _Imōto_ , **don't**. Please…" _Don't … don't what? Don't kill? Why not? How does he even know-?_

The answer came with the force of a train, making her eyes open wide in shocked realization, _my colors._ Bickslow had told her about his perception of people's auras as colors. He had also confided once that he always knew when someone had willingly taken a human life, because it caused a blood-colored stain on their aura that would never, ever go away.

She suddenly realized what Bickslow was actually asking. He was asking her to stop before she did something she would regret. Before she did something, went somewhere, that he could not protect her from or follow her to. Before she tainted her very soul. _What am I thinking?_

Rihanna blinked once, then twice, the black hole swirling shut as she realized with a flash of terror just what she'd been about to do. Yes, she hated Ivan for what he had done in the anime. Yes, she hated him, wanted to hurt him, for hurting her boys. But to kill him? To take a life? Memories of blood and horror and sleepless nights sank their claws cruelly into her psyche and air pushed out of her throat in a horrified whine. _No. No-no-no-no!_

Ivan moved forward a few steps, his confidence seemingly returned at her sudden lack of aggression, and the motion snapped Rihanna out of her thoughts, "Good girl. Now-" Rihanna's rage came rushing back and Rihanna bared her teeth at him, _I may not be willing to kill you, but that doesn't mean I'll let you touch them again._ A shadow tendril lanced out and stabbed dangerously at the air just in front of Ivan, its sharp tip singing through the air and bringing Ivan up short.

Ivan blinked and the fear in his eyes came flashing back, "Now … eh, Wren-chan…"

Wordlessly, Rihanna used one of her shadow tendrils to draw a long line in the half-frozen sand between herself and Ivan. It curled until it became a huge circle surrounding Bickslow and Laxus. Never taking her eyes off of Ivan, Rihanna pointed first at him, then at the circle, then made an X symbol over her chest. Ivan's expression waged between fear, indignation over being afraid of a child, and confusion and Rihanna sneered at him.

 _Let's make this really simple then._ Dropping her other shadow tendrils, she reached out and grasped Ivan's shadow, animating it and making sure he saw what she was doing before sending it slinking toward the line in the sand. The moment the Ivan-shaped shadow crossed the line, Rihanna skewered it with her shadow tendrils, violently slashing through the legs of Ivan's shadow. Ivan's shadow stayed under her control for just long enough that he could see and fully comprehend what she meant with that display. Then the damage caused the shadow to wrench out of her mental grasp and rush back to rest at the feet of the wide-eyed Ivan.

Keeping every motion slow, precise, and filled with intent, Rihanna again pointed first at Ivan, then at the line, and then at the deep slashes she'd made in the ground. Her message rang clear, as clear as if she'd had a voice with which to scream it to the heavens, _"Get too close to them again, and I will hurt you."_ She pointed at him again, pointed over her shoulders at the boys, and slapped her hand against her bare arm before unleashing another of her black holes.

The coin-sized hole exploded close to Ivan's feet, sending him scrambling backwards, ice now coating the toes of his boots and leaving another deep but small crater in the ground. Two of her shadow tendrils whipped out, slashing identical marks across Ivan's cheeks as she pointed meaningfully at the crater, then at Ivan with a hand, _"_ ** _Touch_** _them again, and I will make you_ ** _scream_** _."_

Raising her extended foot slowly, she looked him in the eye with every atom of aggression and hatred she could feel, _"Now,"_ her foot slammed down to the ground, sending a massive shockwave of shadows crashing into the startled Ivan. The force of the shockwave knocked him off his feet and sent him skidding backwards, _"_ ** _Leave_** _!"_

The moment the man had recovered his feet, Ivan fled, not once looking back.

Only once he was completely out of sight did Rihanna let her shadows dissolve. A familiar, nauseous, achy feeling swept over her and she realized she'd come close to completely draining her magic reserves with all of those spells. Closing her eyes once, she swayed slightly before turning back to Bickslow and Laxus, some part of her afraid of what she would see.

Laxus was staring at her with a huge, uncomprehending eye, the faint tendrils of fear flickering through them making her want to flinch. But Bickslow … she couldn't read Bickslow at all, and that was what really hurt. She stared at him, trying to meet his eyes despite his sunglasses, trying to determine what he had seen in her aura and if it had somehow ruined everything between them.

She had never wanted him to see her darker side, never thought she could fall that far to her darker side. She hadn't even thought her darker side was that deep. Rihanna knew what it was like to be angry, knew she could be a truly nasty person if pushed far enough by someone she didn't count as family and even then, could be incredibly rough with her words and deeds if provoked beyond the limit of her self-control.

But that … wanting to truly hurt, to threaten and maim … wanting to kill, that was new. The majority of her was horrified at just how close she'd been coming to crossing an uncrossable line. Yet there was a part of her was staring at how hurt her boys were and could only think of how badly she wanted to have done more to Ivan than just threaten and hit him with a shockwave. A part of her was still hissing and spitting in hatred over what Ivan had dared do to her boys.

 _My boys. When … when did I even start to think of them as that? Is this … is this what people mean by being an overprotective sibling? Or maybe what they mean by Mama Bear? This desire, this_ ** _need_** _, to protect someone at all costs … to cross any line if that's what it took to keep them safe?_

Her contemplations were broken by the sudden tilting of the horizon and the sight of sand rushing up to greet her. Bickslow's voice broke the tense silence as he somehow managed to cross the distance between them in time to catch her, "Wren!"

Rolling her over in his arms so that she was facing the sky instead of the sand, Bickslow shook her lightly, "Wren? _Imōto_?" Rihanna swallowed hard to fight back the sudden urge to cry, _Bickslow? Do you … aren't you afraid of me now?_ Reaching up with a hand as he hefted her unsteadily to her feet, she cradled the cut on his cheek, letting the blood smear off on her fingers as she mouthed an apology.

Bickslow stared at her unreadably again for several seconds before pulling her close and whispering, "Don't do that again, _Imōto_. Please. I don't care how angry you get or how badly you want to keep us from getting hurt. Please don't ever do that again. When- when those colors started taking over your aura … I thought I was going to lose you…"

Rihanna returned the hug, trying to convey her apology, her promise, through the contact, _I'm so, so sorry I scared you like that. I promise, I … I'll never, never do that to you. I'll never make you lose me. Not to that. Not ever. I promise._

Pulling away reluctantly, Rihanna grabbed Bickslow's wrist and turned to face Laxus. The normally confident blond was shaking as he stared alternately at the line in the sand and the direction in which Ivan had run. When Rihanna approached and gently took hold of his fingers, not wanting to risk aggravating the cuts on his hands, he flinched slightly in surprise and blinked rapidly. Slowly, his gaze swung down to her and Rihanna let their gazes lock for several seconds before she pulled gently on his fingers and led both of her boys away from the beach.

Somehow, she honestly wasn't sure how, she managed to stay upright and conscious all the way back to the lighthouse. It probably helped that they weren't that far away from it. Ivan had chosen one of the beaches on the lighthouse's side of Magnolia and the lake to beat Laxus under some guise, probably sparring, because there had to be a guise otherwise he would have been kicked out of Fairy Tail already. Just thinking about it sent a jolt of fire through her veins, but Rihanna steadfastly pushed it down as she unlocked the door to the house and led the boys inside.

Maneuvering the utterly silent boys to the couch in the living room, she gently nudged them into sitting before making her way to the bathroom. Once inside, she battled off a wave of exhaustion-induced vertigo and retrieved the first aid kit she'd purchased just a few days ago from underneath the sink.

After a moment's pause to consider making Laxus take a bath first, she instead grabbed a pile of washcloths and detoured to the kitchen to retrieve the largest mixing bowl they had. Returning to the living room briefly with the large first aid kit and the washcloths, she returned to the bathroom, filled the bowl with hot water, and carefully took it out to the living room.

In the time she'd been getting the bowl of water, Bickslow had snapped out of his daze enough to open the first aid kit and start sorting through bandages, antibiotics, and various creams sold specifically for mages. Rihanna settled down in front of the boys and started to reach for the washcloths when Bickslow gently pushed her shaking hand away, "I can handle it, Wren, you need to rest." Rihanna glared in protest and a short argument occurred before she gave up and sat down on one of the armchairs to watch Bickslow's tend to a still trance-like Laxus.

Against her will, Rihanna found her eyelids growing heavy and, before she could consciously try to fight it off or think of what to say or how to handle the repercussions that were bound to come from the day's events, her body had already caved to its magic-drain and she was asleep.

* * *

Laxus flinched slightly as Bickslow started using a wet washcloth to clean his many, many cuts and then apply antibiotic and bandages to them. Bickslow grabbed Laxus's arm firmly to keep him from pulling away, "Hold still. You need this."

Laxus's reply was a low murmur, devoid of any of his usual energy or spunk, "Not really. Most of the cuts will be gone by morning and the ones that remain won't even be noticeable by afternoon."

Bickslow faltered in his work for a moment, shooting Laxus a long look, "You aren't lying."

It wasn't a question, as Bickslow had just checked with Figure Eyes, but Laxus treated it like one anyway, "No. I'm not. It's … I've had an enhanced healing factor since I was … five, I think."

Bickslow resumed cleaning the cuts, not quite willing to take Laxus at his word about not needing medical attention, "How? Can Lightning Magic heal stuff?"

Laxus gave a weak snort, not fighting Bickslow as the latter boy used what little knowledge he had in first aid to care for Laxus's wounds, "Not really. Well, sort of. I … when I was really little, I got sick easily and couldn't do a lot of stuff. So my dad," Bickslow suppressed a growling noise in his throat at the very mention, "implanted a lacrima inside me."

Bickslow's head snapped up, images of painful surgery and the bulky marble lacrima he'd seen in stores dancing through his mind, "He **what**?"

Laxus shrugged, winced, then held still again, "I know. It sounds … crazy. But it worked, I've been fine ever since. More than fine. I hardly even catch colds now and it boosted my magical abilities a lot, so I can take this kind of thing."

Bickslow dropped the bloody washcloth on the floor and worked on smearing antibiotic cream over the cuts, noticing that Laxus was right, they already looked smaller and shallower than they had at the beach. Morbid curiosity waged with anger before curiosity temporarily won, "What kind of lacrima can do this stuff? Why don't doctors use it more often if it works so well?"

Laxus hissed faintly as the cream stung his cuts before answering, "Because not just any kind of magic lacrima will work. Only a lacrima filled with one of the Lost Magics has that kind of effect, or can even be safely implanted. My dad had to look everywhere for the one he gave me."

Bickslow frowned, "Lost Magics … you mean the stuff we read about in the library? Things like Healing Magic and Time Magic and Dragon Slayer Magic stuff? You have one of those?"

Laxus puffed out his chest fractionally and smiled despite his black eye and clearly aching side, "Lightning Dragon Slayer, actually. That's why dad pushes me so hard in … in our spars." He faltered on the last part of the sentence, his open eye clouding over with confusion and a haze of unhappy emotions as he remembered what had just happened.

Bickslow tensed his grip on Laxus's arm as he growled, "That **wasn't** sparring. That was a beating. That was wrong."

Laxus tensed and snapped reflexively, "It was not-"

"Laxus." Something in Bickslow's tone stopped Laxus from protesting further. One grey eye slid over to stare at him as Bickslow paused in his ministrations, unpleasant memories rising to the forefront of his mind as he murmured, "I **know** what beatings look like, Laxus. I know what they feel like. I know the colors that come with them. I know-" his voice cracked and he glanced at Wren briefly, checking to make sure she hadn't somehow woken up to listen in. After her display because of Ivan's attack, he didn't want to risk her getting angry again.

Satisfied that she was still sleeping deeply on the armchair, Bickslow continued, "Before … before I was on the streets and before … my brand. My parents tried to 'cure' me of my eye magic. They, my father especially, kept punishing me for each time I slipped up and saw people's colors. He said- he said it was for my own good, that it was to make me better, that he wouldn't hurt me if there wasn't something **wrong** with me."

Bickslow stared off into the middle distance, the unpleasant memories of days before Fairy Tail leaving a bitter taste in his mouth, "Sometimes they would lock me in the basement, without any supper or blankets or light, and then leave me in there all night. Sometimes … when father caught me watching people's auras, he would hit me, say he was 'cleansing' me of my 'curse'. He never left bruises in places my clothes couldn't cover it up and any cuts or scrapes I got were because of 'my reckless playing and clumsy manner'."

With a faint snarl, Bickslow turned back to Laxus and started washing off his other arm, "It was always 'for my own good' or 'my own fault' or 'because of my failings'. Then one day I got sick of it, I looked my father in the eye and told him no … and he stopped. Because I'd been using Figure Eyes at the time. I got scared, so I ran and hid, but they and the neighbors caught up with me and, well…" Laxus's eye trailed up to Bickslow's tattoo and he smiled bitterly, "Yeah. You guessed it. I was on the streets ever since until Wren and I joined Fairy Tail."

Laxus looked tired, confused, weak in a way that Bickslow didn't know how to fix, "But … dad would never do that. He … he really does just want to make me stronger."

Bickslow sighed explosively, suddenly too tired to get truly angry, "Look. I don't know what he's told you to make you keep insisting that and I can't make you think otherwise. But, just answer me this, okay?" Bickslow locked gazes with Laxus, "After your 'sparring matches' are over, does he do **anything** to help you? Painkillers, medication, bandages? Even a hug and a 'that was a good try'? Anything at all to show that he doesn't want to hurt you the way he is? That he really does care about you? Or does he just tell you that you're a stupid, ungrateful brat who doesn't appreciate all he's done for you. That you're pathetic, a shame to the family, and then leave you to treat your injuries all alone?"

Laxus swallowed hard and even without using Figure Eyes, Bickslow knew, just knew, that he had nailed what really happened after those "sparring matches". What Ivan said to Laxus after he was done cutting Laxus a thousand times and making him feel like a stupid child.

Funny that. Because if Bickslow was right, which judging by Laxus's face he was, then Laxus's supposedly-loving father told him the exact same things Bickslow's had before Bickslow had been thrown out on the streets for his "curse". Grunting to himself, Bickslow plopped the washcloth in Laxus's limp hand and stood up, "I'm going to see if we have something for your eye and side. Clean your arm and legs while I'm doing that, okay?" Laxus made a vaguely affirmative noise and Bickslow moved for the kitchen.

However, just as he reached the start of the hallway, Laxus's soft voice stopped him, "Would you and Wren mind if I … if I stayed here for tonight? Instead of going … going back to the house?"

If Wren had been awake to hear that, to be part of the conversation, she might have noticed how Laxus used the word "house" instead of the word "home". She might have noticed the quaver in Laxus's voice, looked back and seen the tears spilling silently from his open eye.

But Bickslow was not Wren, he did not notice the difference between "house" and "home", he did not understand that the quaver in Laxus's voice might have been from something other than pain or exhaustion and so did not look back and see the tears trickling slowly down Laxus's cheek.

What he did notice however, even if it was only subconsciously, was the hidden question in Laxus's words, _"Do_ ** _you_** **_two_** _care about me?"_

Raising a hand easily to wave it over his shoulder, Bickslow called back, "Course we don't mind. This is the _Raijinshū's_ house, you can stay here however long you want. Why would you even ask?"

 _"_ _Of course we do. We're family aren't we?"_

* * *

 **Japanese Translation: Same-boke - Idiot Shark.**

 **Bicksaho - Insulting nickname by combining a name with the Japanese word for moron. Essentially Bicks-Moron.**


	17. Chapter 16: Demon Cats and War Trophies

**So! I return with a new chapter and a request to please read the Author's Note! There is an important explanation, as well as an important announcement in there that I think will answer some questions before they show up.**

 **Review Response: Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hello! Yay! I win! (bows low) I will do my best to live up to the honor of being on your favorites list. No, unfortunately, you are not correct at this point in time. But! Before you bite my head off for it, just remember to read the Author's Note down below, I will explain there.**

 **Dear Guest, hey there! Oh, good, I was going for sad but heartwarming. As for Ivan's fake cheer, well, he's had years to perfect that mask and you know what they say, love is blind and all that. For anyone who didn't have Figure Eyes or future knowledge, he's actually very convincing. (laughs) I know what you mean, 99 percent of the most epic fights in the series happen because someone has foolishly broken that number one rule and messed with one of Fairy Tail's many family members. This chapter ... does not have Ivan getting ratted out unfortunately, please read the Author's Note for more info on why that is. I'm trying to move things along and include the others, but it's slow going. I have other stuff I need to cover before then and the nearest recruitment, Gray, doesn't happen until next year (X775, the current in-story year is X774) according to the timeline. Still, have more adorable!Levy and sassy!Cana moments in this chapter!**

 **Dear Pixie, greetings! Yes, Wren is the only one who knows it's a hole in time-space. The few (re: three) other people who know about it just think it's a freezing explosion or a hole. They don't actually know what kind of hole, just that it ... is. Make sense? I ... actually didn't think about it in that way, but after careful consideration I can tell you that, no, she wouldn't be able to boost Lucy's Celestial Spirit Magic with her eye magic. The why behind that is too complicated for the moment, and is also a plot twist, so that's all I can say on that. I can say, however, that I think Loki would have a good idea on just what her eye magic does if he ever saw it. But considering how rarely she uses it, it could take a while before he even knows it exists. Hmm, the rest of the guild might understand to an extent, but not in the same way she does. To them, the stars are just as much a land as the earth under their feet, the concept of a vacuum between the stars is ... more than a little foreign. (chuckles) Glad you liked it! I'll try to include more Family!Raijinshū where I can, but you'll probably have to wait a while to see Scary!Mother-hen!Wren again, she only comes out when stuff really hits the fan.**

 **Dear FlamingB1rd, hi! Aww, so happy to hear that! But, you really read all fifteen chapters in a single day? I'm ... both flattered and hugely impressed. Well, if you like Overprotective!Bickslow, then you'll definitely like the ending part of this chapter! I hope you enjoy the rest of it too! I'm glad you're learning some Japanese from this story, I put the translation notes at the bottom because whenever I'm reading anime fan fiction, I get really tired of having to stop and look up what various Japanese words mean. I figured other people might get tired of it too, so I decided to save some time and translate to the best of my (meager) ability.**

 **Dear BizzyLizy, hello! Yes, yes he is. I will enjoy writing his comeuppance in a (far) future chapter. We'll get there eventually, but I wouldn't be too eager to see the side-effects if I were you. They are ... not going to be fun for Wren if/when she gets to that point. Levy is one of the more awesome, underused Fairy Tail characters in my opinion, so I was happy to include her early.**

 **Dear The Star In The Night, greetings! Wow, I'm very happy I surpassed your expectations, I was kinda nervous about posting that chapter... Thank you very much for all of your compliments! Despite being awkward and kinda tsundere (in think that's the right term) right now, Bickslow is instinctively protective to people he cares for. Even ones who he fights with or who scare him occasionally. Heh, heh, (rubs head) I have a wee bit too much fun putting "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" and "the most dangerous place in the world is between a mother and her children" into practice at times. But I'm glad you approve. As for who is going to be scariest, I'm thinking that to non-Fairy Tail people or new members, that title will go to Laxus, but to those in the know, it's gonna be Wren they try to appease. Fallout and retaliation (because you are right, Ivan is a vengeful little glitch) is gonna have to wait several chapters. As for why, please read the Author's Note. I hope you enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear Reptil, hey there! Glad you approve! The others are coming, I promise, just be patient a while longer. This won't effect Ivan's exile drastically, not yet anyway, and no, Laxus does not have his trademark scar. I'm saving that one for a special future chapter (wink, wink).**

 **Author's Note: So! A lot of you are anticipating Ivan getting denounced and exiled and Laxus getting the sympathy and therapy he deserves in this chapter. Well, sorry to say but, nope. Not yet. Before you collectively bite my head off, let me explain why. For one, Ivan has turned tail, grabbed a mission as an excuse, and fled to lick his wounds and plot revenge. Without Ivan's presence there to make things insufferably tense, I just don't see Laxus bringing it up with anyone. Remember, he's spent years thinking that the sparring/beatings were what he deserved and that everyone either experiences the same thing or already knows and approves. After all, Ivan has publicly brought up sparring with Laxus many times before and no one, not even Makarov, has said anything.**

 **Now, we all know that the silence is because they don't know what Ivan really does, but to Laxus, the silence is as much approval of what has been happening to him as vocal agreement. Laxus has also spent years getting it hammered into his head that the spars hurt so much because he is weak and pathetic and NO ONE, especially young boys (trust me, I know one) will willingly bring up their shortcomings to the people they admire/look up too. Just because two people say that what's been happening to him is wrong isn't going to change his opinions in a single day (or even a single year) and make him suddenly open up about what has been happening. Plus, only ONE of those two people would be telling him to tell another adult about this. Bickslow sure wouldn't, because he's gone through similar, or even worse, treatment at the hands of an entire town of adults. As far as Bickslow is concerned, no adult can be trusted with knowing his weaknesses or the weaknesses of his friends. Not even Makarov. As far as Bickslow is concerned, Ivan not being present to hurt Laxus is enough. Talking to an adult would only cause Ivan to come back or for something worse to happen. Only Wren would try to convince Laxus to talk to somebody and, well, she's physically six. And she's a girl. Her opinion, for all of her terrifying abilities, is not going to be enough to convince Laxus to say anything and if Laxus holds his silence, Bickslow is going to follow his lead because Laxus is the Raijinshū's "chief". Wren can't go up an tell anyone on her own because she can't write yet, no one but Bickslow can translate her sign/whistle-language that well, and Bickslow is not going to translate on this matter. At all. So, she's stuck.**

 **Of course, this isn't going to be the end of the matter, Ivan will come back eventually, things will blow up in everyone's faces, and at least some of his crimes are going to come to light and get him banished from Fairy Tail. But that all comes LATER. For now, the matter is at a stalemate for reasons that I hope make sense to everyone. Are we good? Good.**

 **On to other matters! As my Transformers readers are already familiar with, I am a die-hard NaNoWriMo participant. For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo is a month-long internet writing challenge that happens every November, with minor camp versions in April and July. It is my custom to put all my fan fiction stories on hiatus while I do these challenges. So, I'm essentially going to drop off the face of the earth this November. This is normal, so don't panic, I'll be back sometime in December. Normally I would bribe you all by saying I'm working on this story for that month, but unfortunately this November I'm working on an original work, not this story. So, sorry about that. I will try to post one more time before November (hopefully on my Transformers story too) but I can make no promises. Basically, this is probably the last you'll hear from me until sometime in December barring a scheduling miracle. Again, I'll be back, just ... later. Much later.**

 **Finally! A quick shout-out to Hazel tree09, who gave me the excuse to write this chapter. If you are confused Hazel tree09 just read on, or look up your review for chapter 7 of this story. I'd been wanting to do it, but was afraid no one would like it, so thanks'. This chapter was a blast to write. Kudos to everyone if you catch the reference I made to a fandom that isn't Fairy Tail, nor the main fandom referenced in this chapter. Hint, it's a piece of dialogue. Please tell me if anyone catches it because I had way too much fun putting it there.**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs who have officially stolen my plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen - Demon Cats and War Trophies.**

 **(Two months, two weeks, six days since joining the guild)**

 _Let's see, "Sanada-san … went to … town"? No, market, that's the word for market. "To buy a … a … dog"? No, that can't be right. What's that symbol mean again?_ Rihanna wished desperately for the ability to groan her frustration as she slammed her head down against the book splayed open on the table. _This is humiliating. I can't even read a_ ** _picture book_** _correctly._ Lifting her head from the book, she rubbed her face tiredly, _I_ ** _hate_** _the Japanese writing system. So much. Why can't they have a simple twenty-six letter system like english does? Or at least, just one_ _writing system? Why do they need hiragana, katakana,_ ** _and_** _kanji? Seriously, this is impossible._

Of course, in the back of her mind where her practical, pragmatic side lived, she knew that it actually was possible to learn to read Japanese. It really was. It was just very, very hard and very, very frustrating. Especially because she missed being able to cuddle up in a corner and read a thick novel for the afternoon. Being now reduced to struggling through a simple picture book was just … so unfair. Utterly, completely, humiliatingly, unfair.

It didn't help her mood at all that Bickslow wasn't around to help or distract her. He had finally gone too far with the nature of the pranks he pulled on the teachers and, just as Makarov had threatened, was being forced to suffer through solitary detention for the next three hours. A Fairy Tail mage Rihanna didn't know from the anime, Cedric, had been assigned to stand guard over the reluctant boy and make sure he actually **did** his detention time and **didn't** set something on fire out of boredom in the process.

Laxus was busy staking out the door to Makarov's study, which was temporarily serving as a detention room because the teachers at the school were too wise to Bickslow's trouble-making ways to let him be bored for three extra hours in the building in which they worked, guard or no, so he wasn't available either.

Personally, Rihanna suspected that both actions were direct results of the incident at the beach three days ago. Ivan disappeared to go on another long mission by the time the _Raijinshū_ had cautiously gone to the guild building the day after the Incident. Infuriatingly, Laxus refused to speak to anyone about Ivan or what Ivan had been doing to him for **years** , and Bickslow was just as tightlipped about the other boy's trauma. Of course, since no one else in the guild spoke fluent "whistle" as Laxus put it, and both boys refused to be her translator, Rihanna was forced to hold her silence the same as her stupid, complicated, traumatized boys.

The only good thing that came out of the entire debacle, though she was shocked that **anything** good came out of it, period, was that Bickslow and Laxus had apparently come to some kind of understanding while she had been passed out on the armchair. The two were now even more glued to the hip than before, possibly even more than Rihanna and Bickslow normally were, and **that** was saying something when one considered the full implications. Rihanna and Bickslow had been living in each other's pockets for three years after all.

But back to Bickslow's detention, Laxus's stakeout, and her picture-book purgatory.

In truth, Rihanna had almost joined Laxus in his silent stakeout of the door, but then had realized that it was hideously immature to stake out the door when she **knew** Bickslow would be fine, just bored, and that three extra hours wasn't really that long of a time to be separated. Plus, they were in the exact same building, no more than a few minutes walk apart. She had told herself that she should be taking advantage of the time alone and go do something useful for three hours rather than sit and fidget next to Laxus.

Like attempting to improve her reading ability. Which was working out **so** well. In the sense that it wasn't working at all.

She wearily raised her head from the book to look at the wall clock that magically managed to survive the regular chaos of the guild hall to see if enough time had passed that she could go join Laxus on his stakeout without feeling immature and needy. The clock showed that all of ten minutes had passed and Rihanna gave a silent wail of despair as she slammed her head back on the book.

It probably said something about her mental state that staking out a door with a thirteen-year-old was a more appealing idea than doing something else, anything else, on her own, didn't it?

She was debating that statement, as well as arguing with herself over what to do for the next three hours, when Cana's voice rose above the general hubbub of the guild hall, "Hey! Wren-chan!" Slowly, Rihanna looked up from her indecipherable picture book and blinked at the approaching Cana. In one hand, Cana was waving a job poster while the other firmly clasped the wrist of Fairy Tail's newest recruit and dragged her along. Cana came to a stop at Rihanna's table and Rihanna tilted her head fractionally in question.

Cana smiled warmly at her, "There you are, Wren-chan! Levy-chan's looking to go on her first ever mage job and she asked me to help her out!" Rihanna nodded her understanding slowly before shooting an inquisitive glance at the faintly blushing Levy, _so what does that have to do with me?_

Levy tapped her index fingers together slightly and answered the unspoken question, " _Ano_ … the poster recommends at least three mages work together on the job we picked and Cana-chan thought that maybe … you would … like-to-come-help?"

Cana nodded, "Yeah, I mean, Bicks _aho_ is in detention for the next few hours and Laxus-kun doesn't seem to be around at the moment and I thought, you know, you might want to go on a mission with us. Just us girls!"

Rihanna cocked her head to one side, _well, it would be something to do for a few hours… but what if something happens while I'm gone?_ Seeing her unsure look, Cana wheedled, "We're going to use the reward money to go jewelry shopping afterward…"

Rihanna had not been the most social person back in her original world and life, but if there was one thing she did miss about her previous social-life, it was girl-time with likeminded females. True, the current females in front of her were children, but Cana had a good head on her shoulders and Levy seemed like a sweet girl.

Plus, it was a valid excuse to stop futilely trying to read the picture book before she gave in to her urge to blow it up with her dōjutsu.

Rihanna nodded and stood up, absently slapping the picture book shut as she did so, and Cana smiled at her, "Great! Let's go find the client!"

After informing a senior member of their impending absence, the three girls left the guild hall and set off down the street. Suddenly realizing that she had no idea what they were doing, Rihanna tapped the job poster in Cana's hand questioningly. Cana glanced from the poster to Rihanna, "Oh, right, you can't read the posters yet, can you? It's nothing too big. Just an annual job that comes in every summer. I've never done it before, but it doesn't sound too hard. One of the Crocus royal court has a vacation house here in Magnolia and her pet cat always gets out. We're supposed to find it and bring it back to her."

Rihanna considered the new data, shrugged, then nodded. _Okay. That doesn't sound too hard. Sounds pretty easy actually. I mean, it's just a pet cat._

~~~Minor Time-Skip~~~

Two hours later, Rihanna bounded over an overturned cabbage cart, ignoring the woeful cry of, "My cabbages!" that rang from behind her, and felt like slapping herself. _I really,_ ** _really_** _need to stop thinking stuff like that. Curse Fairy Tail Luck!_ Just ahead of her, the demon spawn that masqueraded as a pet brown tabby cat spun around the corner of the busy street in a blur of hissing fur.

Two. Hours. That was how long they'd been chasing the … **thing** pretending to be a rich woman's house pet, trying to catch it long enough to put it in the pet carrier the woman had given them to help in returning the thing. They had chased it high and low all over the city, with Cana's arms being a testament to the fact that the demon-thing-cat had very sharp claws and a stubborn determination to remain free on the streets of Magnolia.

Taking a deep breath, Rihanna flashed into the shadows, then teleported to the rooftops so as to better keep an eye on the target. She had a strong feeling that if they lost sight of it now, the three of them would never find it again. _No wonder the job requested three or more mages! We need a bloody army to pin this thing down!_

On the street below, Levy called out, "Barrier!" sending blocky wall of letters crashing down in front of the cat to cut off its escape while Cana threw a salvo of paralysis and lightning cards at the feline. Dashing out onto the letter wall, Rihanna lashed out with her shadow tendrils from above, aiming to ensnare the thing once and for all, _there! Gottch- what the_ ** _what_** _?_ Rihanna jerked back instinctively as the couldn't-be-a-cat **thing** didn't bother to slow down as it careened toward Levy's word wall. Instead, it kept running at top speed.

And shot straight up the vertical surface as if it was level pavement.

Rihanna barely had a moment to ask herself how in the name of Igneel a supposed cat could run straight up walls without any sign of using its claws before a ball of snarling, fuzzy-brown rage slammed into her middle and sent her tumbling off of the word wall. Her lungs heaving in a silent shriek, Rihanna struggled to catch herself with her shadow tendrils as the hissing ball of fur and bad attitude clawed its way up her torso and chest before using the top of her head as a springboard.

Reacting on some desperate desire to end the torture of a mission before it got any worse, Rihanna blindly latched onto whatever part of the demon-cat she could and held on tight. Hitting the ground on her back with a thud and a rush of escaped air, Rihanna squeezed her eyes shut in preparation to have the cat turn and try to maul her for grabbing onto … some part of it she had yet to determine the name of.

It actually took a full ten seconds to realize that the cat had not stopped running.

And that it was **dragging her with it**.

Several unrepeatable and colorful phrases fought for supremacy in her mind before one question rose to the fore, _how is something that isn't even as long as half of my leg dragging me down the street?_ The question was immediately replaced by, _I'm not getting paid near enough for this._ Sliding down the street, her leg banging painfully against a lamppost as the cat whipped around another corner, Rihanna struggled to right herself or otherwise do something about her increasingly painful situation.

Clutching stubbornly at the cat, Rihanna blindly reached out with her shadow tendrils, trying to grab something, anything, that would anchor her down and stop the cat from dragging her down the street like a half-full sack of apples. She ended up wrapping her tendrils around three innocent bystanders, a stray dog, and an overfilled trash can.

The demon-cat to which she was clinging didn't slow down.

It sped up instead.

If Rihanna could have made a sound, she was certain she would have started swearing and screaming for help with all her might. For better or worse, three innocent bystanders, a howling dog, and a loudly rattling trash can were now doing that for her in a rather well-synchronized chorus. Somewhere in the rush of colors, buildings, and increasing dizziness from getting her head smacked repeatedly against the ground, Rihanna managed to let go her fellow victims and prayed that Cana and Levy would catch up and do something.

Stars started to dance and flicker across her vision, but Rihanna still somehow continued to keep a death grip on the demon-cat's tail. Whipping her tendrils out again, she buried them into the walls of passing buildings, curving the tips like hooks to form makeshift grapnels.

The sound of bricks, windows, and the occasional wooden door shattering behind and to either side did nothing to increase her confidence in the plan.

It did make the demon-cat slow down a bit though.

Finally, just as she was about to give up and release her tendrils before the magic strain added to the pain in her abused skull, the hooked tendrils caught onto several metal lampposts with ringing clangs and snapped taught. The tendrils, being attached to Rihanna as they were, quickly ran out of line and forcibly yanked her to a halt. The demon-cat kept going for all of three steps before Rihanna's arms ran out of stretching capacity and it was forced to a whiplash-inducing stop too.

 _Ow…_ Rihanna barely had time to marvel over the fact that she hadn't dislocated her shoulders with that move before the demon-cat had whirled on the source of its newest obstacle and moved in with the intent to maim.

Rihanna's face felt like it was being attacked by millions of tiny fire stingers as the claws whipped across her cheeks. Rolling to her feet with silent yowls of pain, Rihanna yanked hard on the cat's tail, trying to pull it loose of her face while spinning in a frantic, blind circle. The force of her tug and the momentum of her spin managed to dislodge the demon-cat from her face, making it go flying into the air, held in place only by Rihanna's grip on its tail.

This, of course, had the unwanted effect of causing a stalemate between herself and the demon-cat. She couldn't let go without losing the target of the job and having to start all over again, but she couldn't stop spinning for fear the cat would come at her with its claws again. Her concentration was too shot from the multiple head-to-pavement collisions and the current spinning to let her summon her shadow tendrils again, and her balance was getting shakier by the minute.

 _Come on! Cana, Levy, somebody! Help!_ As if they had heard her somehow, Cana's and Levy's voices approached from somewhere on her right. Or was it left? She was getting too dizzy to tell, "Don't let go, Wren-chan! We'll get it!" _Hurry up!_

Levy breathlessly squeaked out, "Metal Dome!" and something thunked into existence around and above Rihanna. Cana yelled, "Now, Wren-chan! Let go and get out of there with your shadows! I'll hit the cage with my lightning and paralyze the cat once you're out!"

Letting go obediently and sending the demon-cat smacking against the far wall of the newly constructed dome, she lurched away from it, scrabbling blindly for her shadows as she did so. The world kept moving and tilting in a sickening manner even though Rihanna was no longer spinning on her heels, making it nearly impossible for her to grab onto the shadows.

For a moment, the world stopped whirling just long enough for Rihanna to grab onto the shadows. Simultaneously, the tabby demon-cat stopped clawing at the walls and turned to stare at her, something much too intelligent and vindictive glowing in its amber eyes. The demon-cat lunged at her just as the colors of the world drained away. Scrambling back, Rihanna fell through the deeper shadows and their biting cold and landed with a thud on the other side of the street, in the shadow of a storefront awning.

Of course, things could never turn out that "well" for her. Ever. Because moments after hitting the ground outside the dome and dropping exhaustedly out of the shadows, Rihanna realized something.

She had brought a passenger.

Levy screamed shrilly as the demon-cat hissed and bolted toward her, obviously intent on running the girl down if the bluenette didn't get out of its way. Frantically, and with images of a clawed-up little Levy dancing through her mind, Rihanna summoned up her increasingly drained magic reserves and pulled on Levy's shadow. Slender, inky black arms and a torso shot up out of the ground and football-tackled the demon-cat, who promptly began to once more do the impossible and rip the shadow apart like it was flimsy fabric and not magic that had proven immune to daggers, swords, and the occasional explosive before now.

Just as Rihanna was losing control of the increasingly-damaged shadow, something flat and shining gold landed centimeters away from the spitting demon-cat. Lightning lit the area, followed swiftly by ten more thin and shining tarot cards that unleashed three more lightning charges, four paralysis charges, an explosive charge, a fire charge, and a water charge in that respective order.

Cana barked sharply, her voice holding an edge of command unexpected for a girl her age, "Levy! Form a dome again! Quickly!" Levy, reacting more to Cana's order than conscious agreement, shakily chanted out the spell for a dome again, causing a thick word dome to come crashing down around the smoking area of street. Levy's shadow, temporarily damaged beyond control, slid out of Rihanna's weak grasp and slithered out of the smoke and debris to lie meekly on the ground at the bluenette's feet.

All three girls stared tensely at the area of billowing smoke, steam, and dust particles, waiting to see if it was over or if the demon-cat was about to start a fourth, or was it fifth? round. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the haze cleared enough to reveal Levy's dome and its contents.

The cat lay sprawled on the road, tiny spikes of electricity arcing across its singed, steaming, and drenched fur. Rihanna would have almost been afraid the thing was dead were it not for two burning amber eyes boring into hers, conscious and promising painful revenge once the paralysis wore off.

Luckily, Cana didn't wait for that to happen. Instead, she pulled out the card in which she had stored the pet carrier the client had given them, released the pet carrier, and then proceeded to hastily stuff the demon-feline-thing inside it. Locking the carrier door, she slapped several stasis cards on it for good measure before sitting back, "It's over … we did it…"

Rihanna grinned shakily, wincing as she stood up on wobbly legs. _Yay, now we can go home and pretend this never … happened. Pantherlilies._

The street behind them looked like a scene from a war movie. Rubble comprised of stone, wood, and glass from the buildings Rihanna had tried to anchor herself with lay all over the street. People were slowly, cautiously peeking out from behind benches, alleys, and the blown out windows of the houses to see if the chaos was over. Dust from the destroyed stone drifted through the air like smoke … which Rihanna could actually smell. _I guess Cana's fire card three streets back actually did land in that newspaper stand…_

Carts were overturned, street benches were either shattered or flipped, a few trees planted by the sides of the street looked like they had just survived a hurricane and garbage from the overfilled trash can Rihanna had blindly grabbed onto lay scattered all over. Farther in the city, in the general direction of the route their hectic chase had taken, Rihanna could hear the bells of Magnolia's Fire Prevention Brigade ringing out over the vaguely stunned silence.

Slightly blurry memories of the earlier two hours of chasing the demon-cat flickered through Rihanna's mind. Memories of blocked-off roads and alleys because of Levy's barrier spells. Memories of burned, soaked, or electrocuted stalls, benches, trees, and mailboxes from Cana's missed tarot cards.

Memories of overturned carts, freaked out people, carriage-pulling horses, pets, a splintered dining room table, and the fridge Rihanna had accidentally knocked over when the chase had somehow gone first into the shadows, then into a series of interconnected houses. Rihanna winced, _Master Makarov is going to have kittens over this._ ** _Exceed_** _kittens._

Cana and Levy appeared to be thinking on similar lines, because their faces twisted into identical grimaces. Cana hefted the pet carrier in a weak excuse, "Well … at least we got the cat…?"

Levy tapped her fingers together, a nervous tic of hers, "Is the Master going to be really mad at us?" _Probably. But I think he's also used to it by now. Or … he will be when Natsu comes along. Still, I didn't think we could even_ ** _do_** _this much accidental damage. Cana's the oldest, physically, and she's just_ ** _eight_** _. What kind of damage will we do when we grow up?_ Rihanna chose not to think about that. It was too horrifying. Instead, Rihanna grabbed Levy's dress and Cana's shirt sleeve, tugging them along toward an unscathed street, already plotting out an alternate route back to the client. _Better get out of here before the police show up._

For a chase that had taken around two hours and probably tallied several thousand jewels worth of property damage, collecting their reward was rather anticlimactic. It was a fifteen minute walk back to the client's summer house, with about five minutes after that spent watching in fascinated horror as the woman snuggle-choked the demon pet and somehow didn't get even a scratch for her efforts. Two minutes after that and the girls had collected their reward from the long-suffering housekeeper and hastily left the house before the cat could escape the woman's clutches and make good on the revenge promised with its wicked amber eyes.

Rihanna shook her head as she recalled what the butler had muttered when he thought no one was listening, _"They should have blown the thing up while they had the chance. Sneaky, vicious-!"_ Her recollection was interrupted by Levy's weak giggle. Rihanna glanced at the bluenette in confusion, while Cana cocked her head to one side, "What is it Levy-chan?"

Levy shrugged meekly, "It's nothing … I just realized that the cat's name is really, scarily appropriate is all."

 _It had a name? Oh yeah, it did. What did the woman call it…?_ Cana suddenly snorted, "I guess you're right. With a name like Tora is was bound to be crazy." _Right, that was it. Tora. Appropriate name, but I'll bet that woman named it because of its black stripes and not its temperament. I mean, she tied a big, glittery red ribbon to it's ear instead of-_ Rihanna stumbled to a stop, her brain nearly tying itself into knots as old memories smacked her over the head. _Crazy brown tabby with sharp claws and the ability to defy the laws of physics. Red bow on ear. Fat, over-affectionate woman owner who could be sued for pet abuse because of those hugs. Escapes regularly. Requires at least three people to catch._

Rihanna stared blankly off into the distance as a chill slid up her spine, _it couldn't be, could it?_ She shook her head vehemently, _no way, I'm in the Fairy Tail world, not the Naruto one. Surely it couldn't be_ ** _that_** _Tora. Right?_ Following after the other two girls, Rihanna tried to shake the notion from her mind. She only partially succeeded though, and proceeded to suffer daymares about a certain knuckle-headed, stubborn Dragon Slayer meeting up with a certain knuckle-headed, unpredictable Ninja and the sheer amount of destruction the two would cause, even in friendship.

Cana and Levy ended up half-carrying her to Magnolia's public bath after Rihanna suddenly had visions of Might Gai and Rock Lee meeting the Fairy Tail guild in general and partially fainted. Through half of the bath, the thought of, _the destruction would never_ ** _stop_** _,_ rolled on repeat through her mind like a death knell.

* * *

"What **happened** to you?" Laxus watched as Bickslow bolted across the guild hall so quickly he could have been mimicking Mest's teleport magic. Without much conscious thought, Laxus found himself following, worry worming its way through his heart at the sight of the multitude of bandaids adorning Wren's arms, cheeks, legs, and the bandage wrap around her head. Bickslow's tikis shrieked worriedly while their creator alternated between frantically clutching Wren to his chest and inspecting her injuries.

Wren only gave her brother a weak smile, her blond curls damp and limp on her head while an equally beat-up Cana huffed something about demon cats and tarot card depletion. Laxus frowned slowly as he looked from Cana, to the new girl, to Wren, then back. Finally, Laxus asked Wren, "You went on a mission without us?"

Wren nodded with a shrug, then winced at the shrugging motion and had to put up with another bout of Overprotective!Bickslow. Levy inched closer, an apologetic look on her face as she bowed to Bickslow, "I-I'm sorry, Bickslow-kun! It was all my fault! I wanted to take a job but it required three people and Wren-chan agreed to come with us and the cat was actually a **tiger** -"

Cana butted in, "No, it was my fault, I convinced Wren-chan to come along!" _A tiger? Those bandaids don't look like they'd cover up injuries from fighting a tiger … wait._

Laxus deadpanned at Cana, interrupting Bickslow's yelling tirade about "taking his baby sister on suicide jobs", "You did the Tora job, didn't you."

Cana nodded grudgingly and Laxus snorted while the eavesdropping guild members all shuddered in sympathy, "There's a reason that mission pays four times what a normal pet retrieval mission does, you know. That cat's a magic-wielding demon in a red bow and tabby fur."

Cana and the new girl chorused together while Wren signed presumably the same sentiment in time with them, "We **know**."

Bickslow looked close to setting something on fire, so Laxus addressed him next, "It's fine, Bickslow. Tora is just some rich lady's cat that has a talent for running circles around most mages. Wren-chan will be fine by tomorrow, right Wren-chan?" Wren nodded reassuringly, her hazel eyes tired but indulgently warm.

Laxus carefully pushed away memories of black eyes with red rings and how terrifying rage had replaced exasperated patience and forced himself to come closer and put a hand firmly on her shoulder, "Don't go on a mission without us again though. Bickslow might kill something."

Bickslow snarled lowly, "Darn straight! Just let me see this 'Tora' and I'll set it on fire with my tikis! That'll teach it to hurt **my** _Imōto_!"

Wren rolled her eyes and tilted her head to one side, causing her hair to shift slightly and Laxus blinked, "What's that?" Wren paused and looked at him inquiringly. Laxus reached out and touched the object puzzling him, "This. What's this?"

Wren pulled away with a faint hiss the moment he touched it and Cana fearlessly slapped his hand away, "Don't touch it! You'll irritate the hole!"

Bickslow's voice rose about three octaves, "Hole? What hole? **There's a hole in my** ** _Imōto_** **?** "

Cana sent Bickslow a droll look, "Two, actually. We got our ears pierced."

If anything, Bickslow's panic increased at those words, "Pierced? **Pierced**? What do you mean, ' **pierced** '?"

Laxus stepped in to keep Bickslow relatively calm, "Easy, Bickslow. It's a girl thing. Mostly. People pierce their ears all the time so that they can wear jewelry from their ears."

Cana lifted her hair to reveal her own ear, which had a silver bead ring in it that was identical to the one Laxus had spotted in Wren's ear, "Yeah, all three of us did it just today. It didn't even hurt for more than a minute or two. The piecer said that Wren-chan had even had her ears pierced before, it had just healed over. All he had to do for her was reopen them so she can wear her job reward in a few weeks."

Bickslow had, thankfully, stopped hyperventilating, but was now clinging to Wren protectively and staring at Cana like she was crazy, "Why would you do something like that? Why would you make Wren do something like that? … Someone did it to her **before**? When?"

Cana crossed her arms defensively, "One, it looks pretty. Two, I didn't make Wren-chan do anything, she agreed to it. Three, how am I supposed to know? All I know is that the piercer said she'd had her ears pierced before."

Bickslow stared at Cana for several long seconds before glancing at Laxus. Laxus shrugged helplessly, he had no idea what went on the mind of a girl. Let alone a group of them. It could be some kind of feminine Rite of Passage for all he knew.

From her position in Bickslow's death grip, Wren looked decidedly unimpressed. Working herself loose, she turned to face Bickslow and held up a small, clear box that fit nicely in her hand. Laxus leaned over and scrutinized the item at the same time Bickslow did. Inside were two silver dangle earrings. The tops were rings that went in the ears, from which a bead protruded. Hanging from the bead on each earring were small, rectangular silver dangles that grew steadily wider the farther down they went. They were only about as long as Laxus's pinky from tip to second joint, and he didn't really see the point to them. Still, he recalled how the women in Fairy Tail reacted when their new jewelry wasn't cooed over and said, "Nice. Gonna wear them soon?"

Bickslow shot Laxus a scandalized look, then transferred the look to Wren, Cana, and the new girl who Laxus idly thought was named Levy, "Why? What's the point?"

Cana held up her own box of sapphire stud earrings, "War trophies, duh. If we could survive that demon-cat, we deserve trophies to show for it. Come on, Wren-chan, let's get some cookies from the bar."

Bickslow growled lowly, "You're not taking Wren anywhere, _Same-boke_."

Cana looked about to protest the name, probably starting a fight in the process, when Wren made shooing motions in Cana's direction, indicating that she would stay with her brother while Cana and the other girl went ahead to the bar. Cana grudgingly left, Levy following along, and once they were gone Bickslow muttered, "Don't ever do that again, _Imōto_."

Wren nodded and signed something to Bickslow, who slowly relaxed again. On an unspoken signal, Laxus, Bickslow, and Wren all made their way to the corner table they had unofficially claimed as theirs, Bickslow reluctantly asking, "So … how did the mission go?"

Wren signed something too complicated for Laxus to translate and Bickslow said disbelievingly, "It ran straight up a vertical wall without claws? No way."

Semi-repressed memories of hours-long chases and spitting balls of tabby death flashed through Laxus's mind and he shuddered, "Trust me, Bickslow. That is the least the thing can do. If they really caught that cat, then Wren-chan **earned** those earrings. In spades."

* * *

 **Japanese Translation: dōjutsu - roughly translates to eye power. Rihanna uses it in reference to the Naruto anime in which the Sharingan and Byakugan are classified as dōjutsu.**

 **Imōto - little sister (shouldn't everyone know this one by now? Eh, whatever).**

 **Same-boke - Idiot Shark.**


	18. Chapter 17: Shifts, Walls, and Plots

**I live! I ... am also out of prewritten chapters. So the weekly update schedule is temporarily canceled. Sorry. But hey, I'm back much sooner than usual after NaNoWriMo, which went wonderfully if anyone wants to know!**

 **Review Response: Dear Dragon Lord Draco, greetings! Glad you thought is was awesome (bows) I try. Yes! The poor abused Cabbage Man! Never did understand why they started that running gag, but it was fun to exploit.**

 **Dear ShadowHeart251, hello there! Correct on both counts!**

 **Dear TrackHer, hey there! Oh? Does that mean you won't mind if more anime's make guest appearances in later chapters?**

 **Dear clashingHeartsofChocolate, hi there! Heh-heh-heh. Indeed, every world has its Tora, I know one personally. Lucky for me, we have a standing arrangement of "I pretend I don't see it and it doesn't try to claw my face off". Heh-heh.**

 **Dear Guest, hi! Yay, my explanation made sense! Dealing Ivan is going to be ... interesting according to my plot notes. Yes, yes I did. I feel no remorse. Fairy Tail members only get stronger every time they survive the crazy, right? I actually am planning on having Levy help Wren with her reading and writing, but there's a few things I need to write about first before I can get around to it. Working on it though.**

 **Dear Pottergal14, greetings! Thank you, thank you, and thank you! Also, how did your NaNo go? I hope it went well!**

 **Dear FlamingB1rd, hi! Thank you for understanding, I had a wonderful time at NaNo! Hmm, I do feel mildly bad for Tora in that chapter. Mildly. But mostly I was having too much fun writing the chaos. Just wait till Natsu, Gray, and the rest of the MC join Fairy Tail, then what do you think will happen to Cabbage Guy?**

 **Dear Tide4Time, hello there! Yes, yes she did. Oh, have some digital popcorn for your rewatching spree!**

 **Dear Squishy4953, heya! Rooftop running is a serious exercise, if you're going to do it, you must give it your all. Especially when fleeing potential angry mobs. Wren does practice with her Eye Magic, but she can't really use it because of how dangerous it is. She trains hard to control it though. Glad you like it, but go do your homework! (makes shooing motions) You'll get in trouble if you miss too much and then you'll have no time to read anything! Let alone this story. Anyway, hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Dear 16, greetings! Good, that was my intention. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**

 **Dear BizzyLizzy, hi! More like a dimensional counterpart moment. You'll probably be seeing more of those kinds of moments eventually because I find them a lot of fun. But rest assured, I will do my utmost to keep Naruto and Natsu from ever meeting. Or Natsu and Team Gai. Or Natsu and Hibari Kyoya. Or ... you get the picture.**

 **Dear Reptil, hey there! Glad you enjoyed it, I hope this newest chapter lives up to expectations as well!**

 **Dear Pixie, hello! Laxus is already aware that she raged on his behalf, but that doesn't make her rage any less terrifying. He knows she did it to protect him from hurt and he trust her, but he still saw her run off the man who has been scaring and demeaning him for years. It's like owning a cute, fluffy kitten that never does any harm and then watch it run off a bear. He just needs time to adjust to the knowledge of what she can do and that she'll actually do that, all because she cares about HIM. For a kid who's been having it subtly pounded into his head that he can only rely on himself for years, that's a difficult concept to accept. He already sees that stuff, he just needs time to adjust to the concept. Make sense?**

 **Dear Chamele, greetings! Thank you so much for your compliments! I truly enjoy writing this story, and I'll try to update it as often as I can, but Real Life does tend to get in the way. Here's an update in the meantime though!**

 **Dear JinxEmpress, hi! Glad this story has increased your appreciation for Bickslow! Thank you for your compliments and I hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Author's Note: So, it will probably take a while to finish the next chapter, but rest assured that I am working on it. In other news, I started a Katekyo Hitman Reborn/Transformers crossover story called "Ballad of the Femme Fatale". It's a collection of one-shots based off of a one-shot I adopted from the wonderful wolfsrainrules. The one-shot I adopted is called Femme and is posted in wolfsrainrules one-shot collection Flicker if any of you want to either read that or my new story. Just thought I'd mention it. One last thing, I am still working on my Transformers story, I've got about three fourths of the next chapter written, after I finish and edit it, I'll post it. Also, please forgive any grammar/spelling errors, I'm trying to multi-task between this and Real Life at the moment.**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen - Shifts, Walls, and Plots**

 **(Three months since joining the guild)**

They were returning from a job that had, for once, been completed without Fairy Tail Luck intervening when it the noise started. Bells tolled over the town, causing Bickslow and Rihanna to freeze in surprise while Laxus's face lit up with interest, "He's back!" _Who's back? What's with the bells?_

Bickslow cocked his head to one side, looking at Laxus curiously, unintentionally voicing Rihanna's questions, "Who's back? What's with all the bells?"

Laxus snorted faintly and grabbed Bickslow's and Rihanna's wrists, practically dragging them the rest of the way to the guild building, "I'll explain later, right now, we need to get back to the Guild!"

As they ran, Rihanna heard a loud voice call over some kind of honking magical loudspeaker, "Magnolia is about to enter a Gildarts Shift! Attention all residents! Please proceed to your assigned positions!" _Gildarts Shift? Wait,_ ** _Gildarts Shift_** _? As in, Gildarts is coming? What in the name of Igneel?_

Bickslow glanced around in confusion at the rapidly moving pedestrians, all of whom were now spreading the word that Gildarts was coming, "What's a Gildarts? Is Magnolia under attack or something?"

Laxus gave a snort of laughter as they ran up the hill toward the open guild doors just as a rumbling began to fill the air, "No way! Gildarts is one of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages! Now hurry up!"

The three ran through the doors, panting heavily, just as the rumbling grew to a fever pitch and Rihanna heard stone begin to scrape against stone. Inside the guild hall, mages were jumping up and down and cheering about Gildarts' return, further confusing Bickslow while Rihanna turned around to witness a Gildarts Shift for real.

Her eyes grew round and her jaw went slack as she witnessed the town of Magnolia up and rearrange itself just for one man. When she had watched it in the anime the scene had been cool, but mostly hilarious. A ridiculous over-exaggeration that would never come true in real life. Of course, now that the anime **was** real life, the scene wasn't nearly as hilarious. It was awe-inducing. All of the streets that Rihanna had come to know were changing, disappearing, or merging as buildings shifted and stacked on top of each other all in time to the clanging of the cathedral bells.

Slowly, the entire town split and rose, forming two towering walls that made an absolutely straight line at least four people wide from the outskirts of Magnolia to the guild building. Beside her, Bickslow hissed tightly through his teeth, too disbelieving to even swear. Laxus actually sniggered at their reactions before elaborating, "Gildarts is Fairy Tail's strongest mage, maybe even stronger than Jiji. With just one tap of his Crash Magic, he can obliterate entire buildings. But, he's also an absent-minded idiot who doesn't look where he's going. So, instead of constantly having to rebuild their houses after he walks through them, the townspeople designed and built the Gildarts Shift for whenever he comes to town."

From the back, a mage who had overheard Laxus called out gleefully, "Is that cool or what?"

Rihanna blinked once, then twice in disbelief, _I'm going to go with, "or what". Seriously. What? I thought it was ridiculous in the anime but this … this is insane!_

Bickslow shifted nervously, "Doesn't that make him dangerous? I mean, he just walks through people's houses and doesn't even care?"

Mest's familiar voice came from behind them, "Oh, he cares and apologizes profusely when it happens. He just doesn't notice until well after the fact."

"And if he walks into a person?" Bickslow rearranged himself to stand closer to Rihanna, one hand reaching out to grab her arm as if in preparation to run away from the tiny figure in the distance making its way steadily toward the guild.

Mest idly patted Rihanna's head as he answered, "That's the funny thing, nothing happens if a person crashes into him, just buildings. I think its some kind of subconscious control mechanism that prevents him from accidentally taking a life. You don't have to worry, Bickslow-kun, Wren-chan will be perfectly safe."

Bickslow muttered so low that Rihanna almost missed it, "That's what you said about Ivan." She winced at that and glanced around. For better or worse, Rihanna appeared to be the only one that heard it over the noise of the guild celebrating Gildarts' return. Rihanna watched the figure draw steadily closer, eventually making out his almost carrot-color hair, tattered brown cloak, and the travel bag slung lazily over one shoulder.

The guild fell into silence, just watching Gildarts come ever closer. As he strode slowly up the hill, Rihanna noticed that he walked with his eyes on the ground, a semi-glazed look to them that told of his inattentiveness, and his large boots thudding heavily on the ground in an almost sleep-walking manner. Bickslow hastily dragged Rihanna to one side as Gildarts finally reached the guild doors, the blue-haired boy not joining in the rowdy cheers and greetings that rose when Gildarts took one heavy step over the threshold. Rihanna craned her head back, wondering how in the world she had never noticed how tall he was in the anime. _Or maybe I'm just short now…_

Finally, when he had reached roughly the center of the guild hall, the infamous Gildarts Clive looked up from the toes of his boots, his eyes coming unglazed as he seemed to realize he had arrived at his destination. Tilting his head fractionally, Gildarts looked around, a low baritone, "Hmmm," slipping from his throat as he examined his surroundings. Finally, he declared in a vaguely baffled yet pleased tone, "There are more people here than last time. Master? Have you been recruiting again?"

Makarov raised a hand cheerfully and chuckled from his customary spot on the bar, "Something like that. Welcome back, Gildarts!"

Gildarts grunted again and stomped slowly over to the bar, settling heavily onto a bar stool near Master Makarov, "Good to be back. Oi, Enno-san, how about a beer over here?"

Enno smiled and chirped cheerfully, "Right away, Gildarts-san!"

Other guild members crowded around Gildarts, eager to ply him with questions and offer welcomes. Rihanna and Bickslow hung back, one oddly overawed and the other wary. Laxus stayed with them, arms crossed over his chest as he waited patiently for his friends to make up their minds on Gildarts. Mest, seeming to remember how Rihanna reacted with Ivan, also stayed, one hand drifting reassuringly to her shoulder as he murmured, "It's okay, Wren-chan, Bickslow-kun, you can go introduce yourselves. He's friendly and won't hurt you, I promise."

Bickslow clearly wasn't reassured, but at that moment, Master Makarov's voice rose above the din, "Oi! Bickslow! Wren! Come over here!"

The crowd of other mages parted way for them immediately, leaving the pair no choice but to approach Gildarts and Makarov. Laxus walked just behind them, an oddly reassuring presence in the face of someone so much more powerful and unfamiliar. Despite herself, Rihanna still felt nervous as they came to a stop and Gildarts dropped his eyes from his tankard to study them intently. She knew from the anime that Gildarts was a good man, if a playboy and an idiot of Natsu-esque proportions.

Still, there was something about his presence, the sheer power she knew was hiding behind that friendly, semi-goofy personality that made her want to grab her boys and hide.

Gildarts interrupted her thoughts with a broad smile and a cheerful, "So! You two are the newest recruits, huh? Already getting along with Laxus-kun, I see, a hard thing to do, ne Laxus-kun?"

Laxus crossed his arms over his chest, "They're my _Raijinshū_." Rihanna's chest warmed a bit at that declaration, as much an introduction as a protective warning. As much as she saw Laxus and Bickslow as her boys, Laxus saw Rihanna and Bickslow as his. His team, his tribe, his _Raijinshū_.

Gildarts' smile grew as he appeared to hear the hidden message in Laxus's words, "Really now, they must be something special then!" Suddenly leaning forward with his hands on his knees, Gildarts asked, "So then, Bickslow-kun, what is it you can do, ne? Ne?"

Rihanna blinked again, taken aback by how … puppyish Gildarts suddenly seemed. Bickslow tilted his head slowly to one side, his shoulders twitching with suppressed surprise as well before he said curtly, "Tiki dolls … and Figure Eyes." With a twitch of his fingers, Pappa, Pippi, and Puppu came spinning into view, plainly visible but well out of reach of Gildarts touch. Gildarts' eyebrows rose in fascination and his grin, somehow, grew even larger, " _Sugoi na_! That's a magic I haven't seen in a while! Seith Magic, isn't it?"

Bickslow's head jerked slightly in surprise and his tikis chittered, "U-uh, yeah."

Gildarts nodded rapidly to himself and then turned his excited gaze to Rihanna, "So, Little Missy, what is it you can do, ne?"

Rihanna tried valiantly not to be insulted at being called a "Little Missy" and failed. Indignation turned into mischief and she tugged on Gildarts' shadow, causing it to rise up behind him and steal his unattended beer mug. At her prolonged silence, Gildarts leaned forward a little and coaxed, "Come on now, don't be shy. You can tell me!"

Bickslow cut in, his voice just a touch scathing, "Look behind you, _Aho_."

Laxus hissed slightly at the insult to Gildarts, but the man didn't seem to notice as he just blinked, grunted in confusion, and looked over his shoulder. Cheekily, Rihanna made Gildarts' shadow salute him with the beer before raising the tankard to where its lips were supposed to be as if it was about to drink it. With a very un-manly squawk, Gildarts lunged for the tankard, "Oi, oi! Give me that!" Rihanna made the shadow stand taller than Gildarts, arm stretching beyond normal proportions in order to keep the desired item out of reach. All around, guild members sniggered or outright laughed as Gildarts comically half-clambered onto the bar, hands grasping the air beneath the tankard, " **Oi**!"

Bickslow called smugly, "Apologize and you can have it back."

Gildarts paused in his flailing and looked over his shoulder, "Eh? Apologize for what?"

Bickslow looked down at Rihanna, knowing she was doing it because she'd been insulted somehow, but not knowing exactly what. Rihanna flicked her fingers in their private hand-sign for the word "little" then gave a chirp that roughly meant "missy" and Bickslow nodded understandingly. Turning back to the still awkwardly paused Gildarts, Bickslow said, "For calling Wren 'little missy'. It's stupid and insulting."

Gildarts stared blankly at Bickslow for all of five seconds before understanding dawned and the man started to chuckle, "Oh, is that what this is about?" Sliding off of the bar with a thud, Gildarts turned to Rihanna and gave a low bow, clasping one of her hands and dramatically sweeping his tattered cloak behind him as he did so. "My deepest apologies for insulting you, _kagehime-sama_ , may I humbly have my beer back?"

Rihanna felt her cheeks heating up against her will, a smile fighting to rise on her lips at his childishly charming antics. In the background, she was aware of Laxus and Mest holding back Bickslow from attacking Gildarts for daring to touch her, but she was mostly focused on Gildarts' roguish grin and twinkling eyes.

He was younger than in the anime, she realized belatedly. Young enough to not be outrageously her senior back in her world, and despite knowing that she was just a precocious child in his eyes, she couldn't help but feel like he was flirting with her. Feeling suddenly shy and embarrassed, Rihanna quickly averted her gaze to the tankard-holding shadow and nodded, busying herself with lowering the drink back to the bar to avoid listening to the chuckles of the guild at her expense. One member joked, "Always gotta charm the females, eh, Gildarts? Even the little ones."

Gildarts straightened up and sat on his barstool again, snatching his tankard possessively off of the bar while watching his shadow slither back to the ground, "Well of course. I needed my beer back." Rihanna snorted explosively, amused despite herself and Gildarts grinned down at her, "Well, _kagehime-sama_ , how about I treat you to a piece of cake to make up for my slight, ne?"

 _Pantherlilies. I can see why the cast loved him so much as kids._ Rolling her eyes, Rihanna started to clamber onto a barstool next to Gildarts when Bickslow tugged her down possessively and growled at Crash Mage. Gildarts blinked, grinned, and added, "Your boyfriend is welcome to come too, of course."

Pappa abruptly shot forward, smacking into the unprepared Gildarts' head and nearly making him spill his drink as Bickslow shrieked, "She's my **sister** , you **creep**!"

Gildarts rubbed his assaulted skull and proceeded to pout. Literally pout. Checking that his beer was still mostly unspilled, his pout abruptly vanished and he gave a sheepish chuckle, "Sorry, my bad. But in my defense, you two look nothing alike."

Bickslow was still glaring daggers of hate at Gildarts from behind his sunglasses and both Rihanna and Laxus sighed. Honestly, couldn't they introduce Bickslow to **anyone** new without something like this happening? Moving over two spaces so that there were two empty seats between Gildarts and herself, Rihanna clambered up onto the barstool despite Bickslow's protests and motioned curtly for her boys to sit down on the empty spots, successfully interrupting Laxus's half-hearted attempts to calm Bickslow with the simple hand sign.

At her motion, both boys stilled and glanced from Gildarts to her and back again. Rihanna watched them with vague confusion, wondering what was going through Laxus's and Bickslow's heads as they exchanged head-tilts and glances. Finally, after an intense staring match between the two, Bickslow nodded minutely and they proceeded to clamber onto the barstools between Rihanna and Gildarts. Rihanna noted approvingly that Laxus had placed himself between the flippant older mage and her short-tempered brother before looking expectantly at Gildarts.

By this point, everyone in the guild had fallen silent to intently watch the interaction of the _Raijinshū_ , Gildarts included. Blinking at them thoughtfully once, then twice, he smirked and shrugged, "Alright then. Enno-san! Get these three some cake, on me!"

Enno nodded easily and disappeared briefly into the kitchen to fetch the desired food items while conversation slowly returned to everyone else. Taking a deep swig out of his beer tankard, Gildarts surprised Rihanna by continuing to pay attention to them, "So, Bickslow-kun, how is it you and your sister came to join Fairy Tail and form a team with Laxus-kun here?"

Bickslow bristled, no doubt about to tell Gildarts to shove his questions somewhere unpleasant, but when Rihanna and Laxus kicked his legs in a simultaneous warning and Makarov shot him a Look, he thought better of it. Shifting uncomfortably on the barstool, Bickslow grunted briefly, "Mest helped us out of a … situation and brought us here. Makarov-jiji offered to let us stay, so we did."

Laxus smoothly took over, both he and Rihanna knowing that was as much as Bickslow was willing to say on the matter, "Mest took them out on a mission and we crossed paths, we worked well together, so we started doing jobs together and we just … stuck, I guess. Bickslow's a pretty good fighter once he puts his mind to it and his tikis are great for long-range attacks or close-range distractions. As for Wren-chan, well," here Laxus smirked, "you've already seen how stealthy her shadows are."

Gildarts was goodnatured enough to laugh, a deep, rumbling guffaw that Rihanna could have sworn she felt the vibrations of despite the distance, "So I have!"

At that moment, Enno returned with three plates, each bearing a small slice of white cake with vanilla frosting. She set the plates down with a smile before sweeping off somewhere. Seemingly assuming that Laxus and Co. would now be busy with their cake, Gildarts struck up a conversation with Master Makarov about the latest guild news and such.

Realizing that the time for pestering and crowding Gildarts was over, the crowd began to disperse back to their normal tables and conversations, but they were still threw glances at the strongest of Fairy Tail's mages once in a while.

Nibbling on the cake thoughtfully, Rihanna kept one ear on Gildarts' and Master Makarov's conversation. Mostly though, she was preoccupied with trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was sitting just a few feet away from **the** Gildarts Clive. Strongest mage of Fairy Tail, semi-mentor figure of Natsu, father of Cana- _Oh, Pantherlilies. Cana! Where is she?_ Hastily, Rihanna looked over her shoulder at the rest of the guild hall, searching for the tarot card user. She remembered how sympathetic, how heartbroken she had felt when she'd watched the episode that revealed just who's daughter Cana was and why she was so desperate to pass the S-Class Exams.

The thought of Cana spending years trying to tell Gildarts only to keep missing her chance, and then grow afraid to speak up at all without somehow proving herself… _Not if I can help it. I've already no doubt changed parts of the plot. I mean, the Raijinshū have formed and it only has two canon members! Plus whatever else has happened without my knowing… It's worth risking messing up the plot if Cana can at least have her father when he's at the guild building. All I have to do is call her over and coax her into talking to him … I hope. I mean, I'm not technically supposed to know about her problem, or how it relates to Gildarts._ Deciding that it couldn't hurt to try and that she couldn't conceivably make the situation any worse even if she had to wing it, she visually searched for Cana among the crowd.

However, even after careful scanning of the guild hall multiple times, there was still no sign of her. Frowning deeply, Rihanna lightly tugged on Bickslow's sleeve to get his attention and then signed hurriedly, _"Where?"_

Bickslow blinked at her uncomprehendingly, "Uh … where what, Wren?"

Pushing down embarrassment at her slip-up, she hastily repeated her hand-sign for where followed quickly by the hand-sign for card and a teeth snapping motion that meant shark. They had each taken turns creating silents signals for the names of the guild members they regularly interacted with and, for better or worse, it had been Bickslow's turn when Cana's name came up on their list.

Understanding and confusion dawned in Bickslow's eyes and he replied, "Oh. Her. Don't you remember, Wren? She went on the job out of town yesterday. She won't be back until tomorrow evening at the earliest." Well … didn't that just make things harder. She had no idea how long Gildarts would be staying, but from the impression she'd gotten from the anime, Gildarts rarely stayed more than a day or two before he wandered off to do more jobs.

Rihanna scowled at the bar top, _of course it couldn't be simple. Otherwise she would have gotten to Gildarts years before the Tenrō Island Arc._ Bickslow nudged her slightly, "You okay, Wren? Is…" Bickslow suddenly lowered his voice to a thready whisper, "Is Gildarts okay with you?" _Or is he like Ivan all over again,_ was the unsaid yet understood second meaning of his question. Rihanna shook off her scowl long enough to reassure Bickslow that Gildarts was okay in her opinion, not noticing until after Bickslow had relaxed that Laxus had done the same. _He was listening in, huh? But … he was actually taking my opinion seriously this time?_ Then again, after what had happened with Ivan, she supposed she could see why Laxus would be more cautious about disregarding Bickslow's and her opinions.

Almost a minute of silence passed for the _Raijinshū_ before Laxus spoke up, his voice a low murmur, "Hey, Bickslow. What **do** his … colors look like? I know Wren-chan doesn't seem to mind him, but I'm … curious."

Bickslow tilted his head to look past Laxus and at Gildarts, then jerked his head back in shock a few moments later with a wordless shout. The shout attracted the attention of the other guild members, Gildarts included, and Wren had to scramble to keep her brother from falling off of his barstool entirely. Gildarts blinked at the flailing Bickslow in concern, "Maa, Bickslow-kun, you alright? You're not allergic to cake or something are you?"

Bickslow sputtered for a few more seconds before he took three deep breaths and calmed, "No. No … I … I just…" he looked away uncomfortably, "it's nothing."

Gildarts raised a skeptical eyebrow while Master Makarov narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Before Gildarts could say anything else, or perhaps ignore them again, Makarov said, "Gildarts has strong colors does he?"

Bickslow gave a slightly choked noise at Makarov so blatantly bringing up Figure Eyes. Even though she was anxious as to the direction of the conversation, Rihanna was impressed that Makarov had remembered Bickslow's explanation on his eye magic. The boy had only been coaxed into speaking about it with Makarov once since they had first joined. Master Makarov continued to level a gentle but demanding gaze on Bickslow and the boy finally hissed out, "Very strong. It … it's like he's lighting the room on fire … but it doesn't burn."

Gildarts made a noise of confusion and looked from Makarov to Bickslow repeatedly, "Fire? What fire? Did I do something?"

Makarov's face broke into an easy smile and he turned back to Gildarts, "It's nothing, Gildarts. Bickslow just has a … unique perception of people because of his magic." Gildarts, surprisingly, accepted that explanation without another word and the two resumed their previous discussion, leaving Rihanna and Laxus to coax more details out of Bickslow once they had slipped away from the bar.

Once they were huddled in their chosen corner of the guild, Laxus asked, "Well? What did you see? What did you mean by 'on fire'?"

Bickslow ran a hand through his shaggy hair, "Just what I said. His aura is so strong it practically coats the room. It's like … like a huge bonfire that doesn't actually burn anything. I … when I used Figure Eyes, I could **feel** his aura spreading through the entire room, not just see it."

Rihanna stared at Bickslow in shock, _he could feel Gildarts' aura? That's … never happened before. Ever._ Touching Bickslow's arm to get his attention, Rihanna signed out, _"What did it feel like? What did you see?"_

Bickslow stared vacantly in Gildarts' direction as he replied softly, "It was warm. Like … like I don't know what. But it was everywhere, reaching out and curling around the auras of everyone else in the guild, brushing up against them, mingling with them … I've only ever seen Makarov-jiji's do that, and even then, he hardly ever does it."

Bickslow tilted his head a fraction to one side, "Gildarts' colors are so **strong** too. All neon-orange an-and deep green, cobalt and powder blue. Some really dark purple too … and a grey hole. A really dark grey hole close to his center. Kinda like … like he'd lost something really special that he can't get back. Like someone's taken something from him, cut a little piece out of his aura and left the edges to turn all withered and grey."

Bickslow was quiet for a long time while Laxus and Rihanna both tried to make sense of Bickslow's description. They did their best to understand how he perceived other people's auras, but Bickslow was the only one who could truly piece together what colors and their combinations meant. The mingling was definitely news to her, and Rihanna wondered why no one could feel it. If Master Makarov's or Gildarts' aura really did somehow mingle and wrap around the others in the guild, shouldn't they be able to feel it?

 _Maybe they do. Maybe they just don't know it._ Rihanna sat up at that thought, looking carefully around the guild hall, studying the members and trying to piece together the theory building in her mind. _Maybe … maybe that's what makes everyone feel so safe when Makarov is around? Maybe Fairy Tail members can subconsciously sense that he's there and will protect them?_ It didn't make much sense to her, but then again, neither did the ability to command shadows and throw lightning bolts.

Bickslow broke through her thoughts with a whisper, "I don't get it." Rihanna looked at Bickslow expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate.

When Bickslow said nothing else, Laxus prodded, "You don't get what?"

Bickslow fiddled with his own fingers, "The warmth. I've never felt anything like that before. Not even when Makarov-jiji mingles auras. But even though it was warm…" Bickslow reached underneath his sunglasses to rub a hand over his face, "I don't know how to explain it. It was welcoming, but at the same time, it wasn't. It was- It **is** …"

Laxus cocked his head to one side, "It is…?"

"Lonely." The word cut the air, baffled yet firm, and Rihanna felt it chill her ever so slightly for reasons she could not name. _Lonely…?_ Her eyes drifted over to Gildarts, sitting at the bar and chuckling over something Master Makarov had said. He certainly didn't look lonely, and he hadn't acted lonely in the anime to Rihanna's memory either. But still, if Bickslow was so sure, then there had to be something to it, right?

The conversation died away, the three of them simply sitting in their corner, watching the S-Class mage and thinking their own thoughts. For Rihanna, it was a mixture of questions, plans, and vague unease. However, two questions were the most pressing for her as she idly fiddled with one of her earring dangles, _how do I get Cana to tell Gildarts about being his daughter early? Do … do I even want to? He seems the same as in the anime, but he_ ** _is_** _ten years younger. What if he's still too much of a playboy to appreciate having a daughter? Raising a child is very, very different from just playing nice with some guild kids every once in a while._

Rihanna shook her head to clear it of doubts. She had to try. What was the point of being here, if she just stood by and let her friends, her new family, suffer when she might be able to help? She just had to hope Gildarts stayed in town long enough for Cana to come back. Either that, or somehow delay him…

A strange, crazy, brilliant idea came into her head and Rihanna grinned to herself, unintentionally making the two boys sitting next to her perform a double take and edge away nervously. _That … that might work. If I'm really careful and fast…_ Rihanna smacked a palm with her fist, _There's no help for it, I'll just have to try! I hate kindergarten class anyway._

* * *

 **Japanese Translation: Sugoi Na! - Amazing!**

 **Aho - Moron.**


	19. Chapter 18: Operation - Delay

**Finished at last! Thank you all for your patience, here is the next chapter. Warning though, this ... this is not a happy chapter. Necessary for character and plot development, but not happy. Just a warning.**

 **Review Response: Dear ShugoYuuki123, Greetings! Here you go! I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Dear mun3litKnight, hello there! Nope. Their magic is much too different and there's no way Gildarts would agree to teach a child his ultra-destructive magic anyway. You'll see what Wren has planned in this new chapter. You're welcome! I'm glad you love it!**

 **Dear The Star In The Night, hi! Yeah, he is. He's also a bit of an idiot though. Exactly. I also think that part of his loneliness stems from losing Cornelia, the only woman he loved enough to marry. He couldn't stay in one place, for the reasons you pointed out, but he loved her enough that he would have come back to her each and every time he could. But she couldn't, or wouldn't, handle his constant absences and left him instead. Rihanna has a plan ... but there's no guarantee that it will work. If it was easy to get Cana to admit her relationship to Gildarts, it would have happened long before the Tenro Arc in canon.**

 **Dear BizzyLizzy, hi there! Nothing good, I can assure you. I've almost got the one after this finished, but updates are still probably going to be spotty for a while (sighs). You're welcome and I hope you find this chapter worth the wait!**

 **Dear Wander Mage011, hello! Glad you enjoyed his intro, Gildarts is a cool character. Flawed, goofy, and doesn't show up very often, but cool. You'll just have to read this new chapter and see how it goes! Wren will try her hardest to help Cana out though. Hmm, that would be a good way to get those two to study together, and I can totally see Makarov wandering up and volunteering Levy to help Wren out, not that Levy would mind I think. She's such a helpful little girl. Wren is definitely sick of adult teachers and their patronization by the way. Hope you like the update!**

 **Dear Chamele, hey there! Wait no longer! The update is finally here!**

 **Dear Guest, hello there! Yep, a problem indeed. Still, even though she can't tell them, that won't stop her from trying her hardest to help.**

 **Author's Note: So, as stated above, this is not a funny/fluffy chapter, especially not the end. But it is an important chapter for plot/character development, so bear with me. That said, I hope you all still enjoy it. I thought I had an announcement ... but I can't remember it now, so it probably wasn't that important. Anyway, happy new year everyone!**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen: Operation - Delay**

 **(Three months, one day since joining guild)**

Gildarts was being stalked. Or at least, he thought he was being stalked. He'd been getting a strange, jittery sensation ever since he had gone to pick up a stack of jobs from the guild that morning. Not hastening his leisurely stride, Gildarts swept his eyes over his surroundings in a lazy yet attentive manner for the hundredth time. Seeing no one suspicious for also the hundredth time, Gildarts allowed himself a frown.

His instincts were rarely wrong, having been honed by years of missions and the infamous Fairy Tail Luck, so if he felt like he was being stalked, then he was sure he was being stalked. The only problems with that were, who was stalking him, why, and how were they doing it without him being able to spot them?

 _Seriously, I haven't had this much trouble spotting a stalker since I accidentally got on that ninja clan's hit list a few years back…_ Shifting the weight of his shoulder bag slightly, Gildarts glanced around again. Still nothing. Not a flash of movement, no threatening auras, not even a crowd of fangirls. _Pity on the last one. It's always nice to be followed by pretty women._ He had planned on going straight to the train station to begin his next round of tough jobs and quests, but in light of the persistent itch on the back of his neck, he decided to take the long route.

He meandered for almost an hour through Magnolia, flirting with any single ladies that happened to pass by and secretly keeping an eye out for his stalker. To his frustration, there was still no sign of anyone out of the ordinary. Just everyday Magnolia citizens who looked a touch wary about Gildarts possibly walking through their houses. Which was silly because he only did that by accident when he was tired and coming home from a long trip, not when he was refreshed and about to go on another long journey.

After another few minutes of wandering, he decided to take a risk and be blatant, otherwise he might miss his train by using up what time he had left. Which would be a pain, because then he'd have to face down the cranky old man who haunted- ahem, **worked** at the ticket booth to buy a ticket for a different train.

The old man had never quite forgiven him for accidentally walking through the ticket booth twenty years ago. It didn't matter that Gildarts had apologized exactly nine-thousand and twenty times over the years, complete with apology gifts and bribes. The old man held a grudge longer than the glaciers of the northern continent were old and still overpriced his tickets as revenge.

Pushing that thought aside, Gildarts stopped in an abandoned section of Magnolia Park, set down his shoulder bag, and called loudly, "Alright, come on out. I know you've been following me."

There was a long pause, during which the feeling of being stared at intensified. Then, just as he was about to call another challenge, he felt a light tug on his cloak. Gildarts blinked in surprise and looked down. Solemn hazel eyes bored into his and Gildarts jolted about a foot in the air in shock. A strangled curse escaped him as he placed a hand over his heart, "Holy-! Where did you come from?"

The little girl blinked, looked in the direction of a nearby tree, then looked back at Gildarts and raised an eyebrow. Gildarts huffed a faint laugh at her expression, "Right, dumb question. How about this one, _kagehime-sama_ , why are you following me?"

The girl, Wren was her name if he recalled correctly, blinked again then tugged at his cloak, trying to pull him in the opposite direction of the train station. Gildarts felt a smile grow on his face, "You don't want me to leave, is that it?" Wren nodded and he chuckled as he patted her head, "Well, as honored as I am that you want me to stay _kagehime-sama_ , I have jobs to do as a Fairy Tail mage. Maybe we'll play when I come back, ne?"

Wren shot him a look that could have melted iron and tugged firmly on his cloak again. Gildarts sighed and mentally checked how much time he had until his train arrived, "Would an ice-cream buy my freedom, _kagehime-sama_?" He wondered if the cunning look that flashed through her eyes was his imagination but then she dazzled him with an adorable, kitten-worthy smile and he found himself leading the way to the nearest ice-cream stand.

A few minutes later, Gildarts was doing his best to withhold his chortles at how focused the girl was on her ice-cream cone. Her eyes were narrowed, tongue flicking out at precise intervals to lick the slowly melting chocolate ice-cream. Gildarts rolled his eyes and took a bite out of his strawberry cone, ignoring the wave of pain it sparked in his front teeth, and commented, "Dainty one, aren't you, _Kagehime-sama_?"

Wren glanced at him sidelong and he got an impression of deep cunning for a second time. He narrowed his eyes, _is she planning something? Na…_ Gildarts heard the bells in the cathedral start to toll the hour and stood up. Turning, he gave an exaggerated bow to the pretentious little girl and intoned in a formal and solemn voice, "Well, _Kagehime-sama_ , I must take my leave."

Wren rolled her eyes at him. Sliding off of the park bench, she idly threw away her still mostly-untouched ice-cream cone, an action which made Gildarts frown in puzzlement. He watched, oddly transfixed by a sense of doom that grew larger and larger by the second as she went through several warmup stretches, like a runner about to begin a race.

"Uh … what are you…?" She straightened up from her warmups, walked half a block down the street in the direction of the downtown area, then turned and held up a thick roll of papers which a shadow tendril had just handed her. The look of cunning was unmistakable now and Gildarts stared hard at the roll of papers while his Fairy Tail Luck sense went crazy.

Wren gave him a pointed look, saluted him with the roll of papers, and then started to jog away. The sense of doom was unmistakable now and, without really knowing why he did it, Gildarts checked the small pouch hanging from his belt that he used for holding job posters.

It was empty save for a forlorn, abandoned ball of lint.

Gildarts was well aware that he frightened several civilians with his thunderous roar of, " **Oi**! Give those **back**!" But with the little mischief-making _Kagehime_ darting down the street just ahead of him, hand waving the roll of stolen papers like a victory banner, he couldn't bring himself to care or lower his volume.

.

.

* * *

.

.

Rihanna flung herself around a corner, feet pounding the pavement as, behind her, Gildarts thundered and roared as he gave pursuit. _Maybe this wasn't the_ ** _best_** _of ideas._ But it had been the only one she had. She felt bad stealing all of his job posters, childish even. However, her act of supposed immaturity was an attempt to prevent years worth of grief and loneliness for Cana, the girl who had been so kind to her and had welcomed her so easily despite her muteness.

Gildarts could live with a missed train or two. A missed train was nothing compared to eighteen missed years of his own daughter's life. Of Cana having to spend twelve years an orphan in all the ways that mattered. Twelve years being forced to watch as the only blood family she had continued to disappear before she could tell him anything, until the words became too large to speak, too terrifying to reveal.

Somehow, Rihanna doubted Gildarts would choose twelve years of essentially abandoning his own child to be raised by the guild without his ever knowing over missing a single, stupid train. Hopefully though, if her plan worked, he would never have to miss those twelve years of watching his daughter grow up. Cana would never have to watch over and over as her father left without Cana ever getting to call him "father" or hear him call her "daughter" in return.

Those hopes didn't make her current situation any less hazardous or loud though. Rihanna agilely dodged around a horse and wagon, only to hear a panicked neigh and an odd crash of wood moments later followed by Gildarts yelling, "Sorry! My bad!" Before he resumed his bellows for her to stop and give back his job posters.

Rihanna just allowed a tiny smirk to grace her lips as she darted between the legs of startled pedestrians. She hadn't spent **three years** on the streets of a city that wanted her to starve to death to give up and get caught just because someone was yelling at her and running through obstacles rather than going around them.

Whirling lightly on her heels, Rihanna shot around corners and ducked between pedestrians with an agility born of practice. Gildarts followed on her heels, going through inanimate obstacles rather than around them, all while either yelling apologies to the owners of said inanimate objects or ordering Rihanna to stop and give his job posters back.

The first two hours of the chase consisted of much the same material. Rihanna running and dodging, while Gildarts chased and roared. Hours three through five consisted of hide-and-seek on the rooftop level. Rihanna had to give the man credit for his unrelenting persistence, even if she was certain that Makarov would not be happy to learn about how many chimneys and roof holes he would have to pay to fix because of Gildarts' big feet and general lack of roof-walking experience.

Hour six to seven had them going back to a wild chase through the city in which Rihanna was very glad she'd managed to get some rest during the hide-and-seek part of the hunt.

A pulse of magic behind her made Rihanna fling herself to the side just in time to avoid the large furrow that split open the street. Pedestrians, who had just been complaining up until that point, now screamed and fled the area. Rihanna stared uncomprehendingly at the deep crack in the cobblestones before whirling to stare incredulously at Gildarts.

Gildarts straightened up from where he'd bent down to slam a single finger against the ground, visible waves of dull red magic curling off of him like smoke. Rihanna's mind went slightly blank at the sheer **power** rolling over her senses from Gildarts. _One finger. He just put a crack in the street almost a foot deep with One. Finger._

Gildarts locked eyes with her and growled commandingly, all humor gone from his tone, "That's **enough** , _Kagehime-sama_. Give back my posters."

Rihanna swallowed hard, fear clenching her gut in a vise grip. Logically, she knew he would never actually hurt another member of Fairy Tail, let alone one who looked like a child. But it was clear that she had finally over-strained his patience. She took half a step toward him to give back the posters, her instincts screaming that it wasn't worth it, that nothing was worth going against Gildarts when he had had enough.

But then Rihanna remembered Cana's tears in the anime. How she had almost left Fairy Tail, almost abandoned **her sister** in all but blood when there were invaders out to kill them all, all so she could pass the trials and be "worthy" of telling her own father that they were related.

Rihanna remembered her own voice, from years and years ago, back when she'd been a real child who still **had** a voice, asking for answers from her mother that she had been much too young to receive or understand.

 _"_ _Mama? Why don't I have a Papa?"_

Rihanna's fingers gripped the roll of posters so hard that they crinkled and warped in her grip and her jaw clenched tight with a sudden flash of rage that burned her fear away. Gildarts narrowed his eyes at her and held out a hand in demand, "Kid, give them back. Give them back and I won't get you in trouble with the Master over all this."

Rihanna took a deep, shaky breath, narrowed her eyes, and curled her lips back to show both rows of teeth. Opening her mouth wide, she hissed exactly like the feral street cats she'd sometimes had to fight with over scraps of food on the streets. Then, before Gildarts had a chance to chase her further or use his Crash Magic on the street again, she yanked roughly on the shadows and teleported away.

.

.

* * *

.

.

Gildarts stood there on the damaged street and stared blankly at the spot where the girl had been standing mere moments before. That … he wasn't quite sure what to make of that. At first he'd thought that the entire thing was an immature prank taken too far and that once he showed a bit of authority, she would finally give back his posters.

But those hadn't been the eyes of a child taking a prank too far. Neither had that vicious, feral hiss been a child's defiance. For a split second, her eyes had been the eyes of an angry, jaded individual too old for her skin and too furious to care. And the hiss? That had to be one of the clearest, non-verbal versions of "make me, scum" he'd ever heard.

Gildarts blinked once, then twice, and wondered helplessly to himself, _what did I do between yesterday afternoon and today to make her so angry?_ Unable to answer that question, Gildarts sighed and set off toward the guild building. There was no way he'd be able to find the little _Kagehime_ without help now that she'd turned into a shadow and zipped off somewhere.

 _I'm going to be out here all day, aren't I?_

.

.

* * *

.

.

Cana shifted her backpack a little higher on her shoulders as she strode down the streets leading from the train station to the guild. She was tired, hungry, and really wanted a bath. _I'm beginning to hate out-of-town missions. Really hate them._ Fairy Tail Luck had struck her hard over the past two days and Cana was more than eager to just turn in her completed job poster, go home, and sleep for the rest of the week.

She paused a bit in mid-step as she finally noticed just how empty the streets were of people. _Is something going on? It may be getting late, but it isn't that late. There should still be people around. The guild isn't under attack again is it?_

Before unease could fully set in or Cana could move to take cover in case of ambush, a shadow swelled out from a fencepost and Wren was suddenly standing before her. Cana jumped in surprise, hand flying to her chest at the little Shadow Mage's sudden appearance, "Wren-chan! Don't scare me like that-!" Cana's original sentence ended sharply as she took in Wren's tired and bedraggled appearance, "Are you alright? Did something happen? Is the guid under attack?"

Cana looked around in alarm as she realized that Wren was there but Bickslow was nowhere in sight. _I've never seen him let her out of his sight willingly, not unless there was a very big reason or he had detention. But he wouldn't have detention this late in the day would he? Does that mean-?_

Wren whistled sharply to get Cana's attention and then shoved something into the surprised brunette's hands. Not waiting for Cana to figure out what she had just been handed or explaining why, Wren took off again and disappeared around the bend in the road. Cana opened her mouth to call after the girl, then closed it with a frown. _No point in trying to catch her now. But what is going on?_ Worried for her guild now, Cana examined what Wren had forced on her in hopes of a clue.

The thing turned out to be several things actually, mission posters if she wanted to be exact. Lots of them, all around S-Class and all taking place on the northern continent. It was enough to keep a mage busy for at least a year, maybe two, and only if they were an exceptional S-Class Mage at that. Cana's heart shot up into her throat as her own observations sunk in, _these can't be-!_

"Oh, you there!" A deep voice, slightly graveled but so, so warm made her gaze snap up and her lungs freeze. Gildarts hurried toward her, looking irritated and rather … tired, though Cana could barely process that fact past the realization that Gildarts was back and he was **right there**. Her fa- Gildarts, ground to a stop in front of her and gave her a look she could only describe as pleading, "It's Cana-chan, right? Tell me you're going to give those back and that you aren't part of _Kagehime's_ plan to drive me insane?"

 _He remembers me. He knows my name. He- wait,_ "Who's _Kagehime_?"

Gildarts held his hand close to the ground to indicate a height as he elaborated breathlessly, "Little midget girl, about this high, new to the guild I think. Uses shadows? I've been trying to get those job posters back since late morning. Or was it afternoon?"

Cana's dazed brain managed to put some pieces together, "Oh. You mean Wren-chan." She then narrowed her eyes and blurted scoldingly, "What did you do?" Because Wren-chan was hard to provoke and only really antagonized someone when it was well deserved. Most of the guild had already learned to fear her wrath and that, if pushed far enough, she lived up to the phrase "watch out for the quiet ones".

Then it hit her that she had just directed such a sharp, accusing phrase at her father and fought back the desire to learn Earth magic if only so that she could make the ground swallow her up. Gildarts waved his hands, seemingly oblivious to her shame and mortification as he answered, "Everyone keeps asking me that and for the last time, **I don't know**! All I know is she snuck up on me, tricked me into buying her ice cream and then made off with all of my job posters!"

He stopped flailing and sighed as he held out a hand to her, "But since you seem to have miraculously gotten them away from little _Kagehime-sama_ , will you please return them to me? The last train is leaving in a few minutes and I'm going to have to run if I want to make it in time to a buy new ticket."

 _Leave? But we just started talking!_ Something formed a lump in her throat as she automatically handed over the posters Wren had pushed on her. Gildarts began to swiftly flip through them, presumably to ensure they were all of the ones he was missing, and Cana opened her mouth desperately, _say it! Say it now before he leaves again!_ The words wouldn't come. They were stuck in her throat as she watched him hurriedly stuff the job posters into a pouch on his belt with a grunt of satisfaction.

Gildarts brushed past her, a large hand patting her hair as he swept by, "Thank's a lot Cana-chan! Well, I gotta run!"

Cana whirled, her heart hammering away so loud she wondered how Gildarts couldn't hear it, _no-no-no-no-!_ "Wait!" Her fingers whipped out and snagged a corner of his cloak, trying to halt his departure.

Gildarts paused, and impatient expression on his face as he turned to face her. Cana heaved, _just say it,_ ** _just say it_** _! Now, before he disappears again!_ "I-"

Gildarts cocked his head to one side, his impatient expression growing as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "Yeah?"

The words slid back down her throat, too large to escape past the lump there and the look on Gildarts face, "Good luck." _Please … please stay … just give me a few more minutes to say it … just a little more time…_

Gildarts' face split into a quick grin as he patted her on the head again, "Thank's kiddo. _Ja ne_!" With that, he was off again, loping away to the train station without so much as looking back.

Cana stood there in the middle of the road, hands clutching the straps of her backpack as her vision grew blurry with all-too-familiar tears. Gildarts was nothing more than a small shape on the horizon when words finally slipped past the lump in her throat, "Daddy… please … you're my daddy…"

But there was no one there to hear. No one but the uncaring wind as it swirled by, snatching up her words and carrying them far away from the one set of ears she so desperately wished would hear them.

* * *

 **Japanese Translation: Kagehime/Kagehime-sama - Shadow Princess.**


	20. Chapter 19: Of Sympathy and Secrets

**Argh. This chapter. Just ... I hate editing sometimes. I really, really do. But, here it is, as edited as I can make it and ready to be read.**

 **Review Response: Dear Squishy4953, greetings! Indeed. If only Gildarts had waited two more minutes. (blinks in direction of Sulking Corner) I would tell you to come out ... but this chapter will probably just send you back in again. Here? (offers tissues).**

 **Dear Aoi-Natsuki-007, hello there! Sorry, I'm not in control of the plot right now. We'll just have to wait and see if Cana get's the opportunity to tell Gildarts early and Wren will certainly not give up but ... we'll see. Glad you loved the chapter though!**

 **Dear BizzyLizzy, hi! Isn't that always how it is? If the characters would just sit down and TALK to each other, half of the problems that crop up in the series would never form. Then again, that's probably why the author never lets them do that. Hope you enjoy the newest update!**

 **Dear Kuna Longshanks, hello! (Offers box of extra tissues) We're not done yet, dear reader, we're not done yet. Glad you liked it! I feel that the anime understates some of the characters emotional reactions sometimes, though I can understand why. Plot must continue and not wallow in angst after all, but still. Wren trains her magic with Laxus and Bickslow every day, so yeah, she's getting a very good handle on what she can do with them.**

 **Dear powerrangerfan364, greetings! Don't blame me, blame the characters. I tried to make Cana blurt it out in time for Gildarts to hear, but she just wouldn't cooperate. She's just too shy for her own good sometimes.**

 **Dear RunFromTheMedic, hi there! Thank you! I hope this newest update satisfies!**

 **Dear Ori Heartlyng, hello there! I believe the term in Japanese for Gildarts would be "Sugoi Baka". Happy to hear you think so! I was kinda frustrated with it for a while there, so I'm glad to hear it was well received. Might want to shore up your heartstrings for this next one, cause I'm pretty sure they're going to get pulled again...**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hey there! Poor Cana indeed, she's had a surprisingly rough road it you think about it. It's fine, I'm just happy you're feeling up to reading and reviewing again!**

 **Dear Lightsbane1905, hi! Yeah, Wren shouldn't even have had to ask that. All Fairy Tail missions are doomed in some way or other. (snickers) Just wait until Erza gets here and they can combine their Fairy Tail Glares. It'll get better ... in the chapter after this one or so... (hide in box fort).**

 **Dear Sky65, hello! You are most welcome and thank you for your review! It made me smile. I hope that you enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Author's Note: Okay, first off, if anyone has not had their review replied too, it's probably because I can't see it. The stupid review viewer function isn't updating properly again so if you dropped a review and I haven't replied to it, I'm not ignoring you, I just can't read what you've said yet. Secondly, this chapter ... this chapter did not go as planned. It took off without me and though I tried to rewrite it a few times I'd just end up getting stuck. So here it is, and despite my earlier frustration I'm actually rather proud of it. Just ... note that this is not a happy or funny chapter. This is the aftermath of Gildarts' failure to stand still for FIVE MORE SECONDS and listen to what his long-lost-daughter has to say. It is also a chapter that expounds a bit on something I think few fan fictions ever really point out the magnitude of. Namely, future knowledge. Wren has the entire series up until about halfway through the Alvarez Empire Arc (minus the side-stories such as Blue Mistral and Ice Trail) in her head and NO WAY of telling anyone about it. Even if she could talk, she can't actually tell anyone because hello, you do not go up to your adoptive family and tell them they're fictional. Just ... just no. That kind of knowledge, knowledge of others' pasts, of their possible futures, of their darkest secrets, is a very heavy burden. Plus, she herself doesn't know how or why she ended up living in a universe she already knows the future of. I don't go too much into detail about that burden yet, but ... yeah, you see the first real signs of it in this chapter.**

 **Next, a quick explanation on Bickslow. The only thing I can think to tell you as an excuse/explanation without giving away spoilers for the chapter is that if Natsu, Earthland's densest, most knuckle-headed person to exist or Wendy, a twelve-year-old kid, can pull off epic inspirational speeches in the middle of a warzone, than Bickslow can pull off his lines in this chapter without being OOC. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Please note that he would not, and could not, do this sort of thing for just anyone, but Wren's his beloved little sister and Fairy Tail is the first real family he's ever had. If he has to go the extra mile for them, he will do so. Finally, this chapter almost more than any of the previous chapters, marks the beginning of the story going AU. In case anyone hasn't figured it out by now, from this point on certain things will become steadily more and more AU because of Wren's influence (accidental or otherwise). (bows) Thank you, everyone who bothered to read this. Now, on to the chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs, who have run off with the Plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen: Of Sympathy and Secrets**

 **(Three months, two days since joining guild)**

Pain bloomed across his cheek, sharp and biting from where her hand had met his face as she screamed shrilly, " **Just shut up**!"

Bickslow stood there, frozen in shock in the middle of the guild hall as Cana ran away, her shoulders shaking as she fled in tears from the building. A heavy silence coated the guild hall as everyone stared uncomprehendingly at the scene that had just unfolded before them. Slowly, Bickslow raised a hand to his stinging cheek, trying to process just what had happened.

 _I didn't … what'd I do?_ He didn't understand. They'd been heckling each other, just like they always did, but then she'd just… Helplessly, he turned to look at Wren and whispered, "What did I do wrong?" His little sister, who was grounded from taking jobs after the Incident she had pulled yesterday, stared after Cana with a serious, sad expression on her face that sent a chill up Bickslow's spine.

Laxus crossed his arms over his chest, confusion wrinkles marring his forehead as he shook his head, "No idea. She has days like this, all mopey and snappy, but I've never seen her run off like that before." _This has happened before? Why?_ Bickslow felt a tug on his sleeve and looked down at Wren, who had come up to stand by his side.

Hazel eyes bored into his for a moment despite his sunglasses and she pointed out the big doors of the guild, her message clear, _"Go after her."_

Bickslow frowned, "But-"

Wren just pointed out the door again and gave a low whistle, _"_ ** _Go_** _."_

Bickslow shot her a long look from behind his glasses, examining his little sister's colors and finding that for once, the examination only added to his confusion. Purple intertwined with the wilted, rainy blue of sadness and another color Bickslow hadn't quite grasped the meaning of yet. Blinking away Figure Eyes, he sighed and obeyed his little sister's demands, "Alright, Wren. But I'm just going to end up making things worse."

With that dire warning aired, Bickslow set out to find Cana with only his tikis to keep him company. He wondered for a moment why Wren wasn't following him, but shook it away in favor of hunting down Fairy Tail's resident Card Mage. It took a surprisingly short time to find her. His intuition pulled him along like an invisible string around the back of the guild and to the lakeshore. From there he followed the vague, shifty footprints in the sand until he came upon the girl in question.

She was curled up in the lea of a pile of rocks, her knees pulled up to her chest, shoulders shaking with her sobs as the lake water lapped at her sandaled toes. Bickslow hesitated, he had no clue what to do with crying girls except Wren. Even then, he only really knew what to do when her tears were because of her nightmares and he had no clue as to whether that method would work on Cana or not.

Still, Wren had insisted he go after Cana. _Now what do I do?_ Slowly, with frequent pauses because of Bickslow's internal war, Pippi drifted forward until it lightly bumped into Cana's elbow. Cana recoiled with a squeak, her head snapping up to see what had touched her and her hands flailing wildly. Her eyes focused on Pippi and Bickslow's focused on mess of tears staining Cana's cheeks.

Regret and confusion flooded him. How had he caused that? He certainly hadn't meant to. For all that he and Cana fought constantly, he never would have wanted to drive her to tears. Cana's gaze shifted to Bickslow and her expression twisted into something bitter, her voice stammering under the force of her heaving breaths, "W-what do **you** w-want? Leave me-e al-one."

Bickslow shuffled, "I, uh," _what do I say, what-do-I-say?_ "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, uh, to make you cry or anything…"

Cana sniffed hard and curled up again, "J-just … just…" her voice trailed off as she buried her face in her knees. Bickslow fidgeted helplessly and he wished he could just walk away and forget this had happened.

Cana was a fellow guild member though. Furthermore, he had the strong suspicion that Wren would smack him with her shadow tendrils if he left now just because he was scared of a few tears.

Mentally sending his tikis into a wide perimeter formation to ensure their privacy, Bickslow inched closer to Cana until they were almost touching and sat down on the sand. Cana stiffened at his approach, but said nothing. Her shoulders continued to shake, Bickslow continued to be baffled as to what he should do.

In a last-chance fit of desperation, Bickslow turned Figure Eyes on Cana, hoping that her aura would hold a clue as to how he should proceed. A moment later, he sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. _That … there is_ ** _no way_** _I did that._

The wilted color of sadness pulled Cana's aura down like a physical weight, its edges tinged with thick frustration and a two stripes of its insides slowly rotting with a grayish color that Bickslow never wanted to see in a person's aura.

Grief.

Loneliness.

Not the colors of those things like he was used to seeing, but something deeper, more horrible. It was something he had only seen a few times, even when on the streets of Aternum.

Cana had **aura scars**.

Something swelled inside him and he grabbed her shoulder firmly, "Cana. What's wrong? Who hurt you?" Because someone had to have hurt her. Bickslow had never seen aura scars in people who had not suffered some kind of crushing grief or been horribly, horribly hurt by someone else.

Laxus had an aura scar, a small one that ran like a deep but narrow crack through his aura, impossible to see unless you watched hard for it. Wren had an aura scar that he rarely saw, one that only showed itself just after her nightmares, or on one of the days back when they'd first met where she would just go still and stare at the world around her like it was a foreign entity. But those scars were tiny and stable, they didn't grow any larger and were hard to see even when Laxus or Wren were very distressed.

Stable aura scars were okay, they were permanent as far as Bickslow knew, but they were not as bad as the unstable ones. Unstable aura scars grew. They grew and grew and grew until they swallowed up all the other colors of a person's aura and left nothing behind. The few people with unstable aura scars like that … Bickslow had seen what happened them eventually. Suicide was the nicest ending. Bickslow still refused to even think about the worst, about that man so rotted out on the inside that he had started taking away other people's colors forever as a way to trigger artificial pleasure colors in himself.

Aura scars were dangerous things. Horrible, dangerous things that few people got and fewer survived unless it was just a single scar and the scar was stabilized.

Cana had **two** , and they were still unstable.

"G-go away. I'm m-mad at y-you." Cana's voice cracked as she tried to shove his hand off of her shoulder. Bickslow refused to budge.

Grabbing both of her shoulders with his hands, he forced her to turn toward him and snarled, "No, you're not. This is about something else. This is about **someone else** and you're going to tell me who so I can go set their butts on fire with my tikis."

Cana shook her head, pushing half-heartedly at him, "No! Go away! I-it's not- just l-leave me alone!"

Bickslow growled in his throat and held on tighter, "Tell me!"

"N-no!"

"Tell me who hurt you like this!"

"You did!"

"Liar. I didn't say anything outside what I normally do!"

"Just go away!"

"Not until you tell me!"

"No-"

Bickslow resisted the urge to shake Cana as he growled, "I'll go get Wren if I have to, Cana! So help me I will! So tell me who-"

"It's my dad!" Cana's broken cry echoed around them, the sound bouncing around the area before it was swallowed by the soft whispers of the lake against the shore.

Bickslow slowly relaxed his grip on Cana's shoulders, something dark rising up inside him as he processed Cana's words, "What." The word escaped from between his teeth in a low hiss, a thousand things flashing through his mind, all of them hateful and enraged. First his dad, then that scum Ivan, and now this? This was too far.

Bickslow opened his mouth to demand to know who Cana's father was, why he hadn't heard of the man before, and where the scum was so Bickslow could grab the other _Raijinshū_ and pay him a **visit** , when Cana took a deep breath and words began to spill out of her.

Bickslow sat back slowly, first on his heels, then shifting to sit by her side as Cana's story poured out of her in between shuddering gasps and broken sniffles. A mother who loved her. A mother that death claimed. A father who didn't even know he was one. A man who stood at the top of the magical world, but could barely be stopped long enough to say "good day". A secret that grew larger, heavier, harder with each and every memory of a turned back and an oblivious goodbye.

Bickslow sat, silent and still, through the entire tale. He never made a sound, never indicated what he felt as the girl he squabbled and sparred with all the time shared with him a secret that had been slowly breaking her into pieces with each and every time she failed to speak it aloud.

Finally, when her story was finished and the steady shush of the lake was the only sound between them, Bickslow found it in himself to move. Reaching out a hesitant arm, he wrapped it around Cana's shoulders and gently pulled her close. She squeaked faintly and stiffened, but Bickslow just continued to hold her in a one-armed hug.

Several tense minutes passed before Cana relaxed into his hold. Finally, after a while of waiting for Cana to stop crying on her own without success, Bickslow murmured, "Stop it, Cana." Cana sniffled again and made a questioning noise. Bickslow gripped her shoulders a little bit tighter, his voice soft but underlined with steel as he repeated, "Stop it, Cana. He isn't worth this."

Cana whimpered, "B-but he's my **dad** -"

He cut her off with a growl, "Doesn't matter. He isn't worth you tearing yourself up over his absence. He isn't worth you crying yourself sick, do you hear me? He isn't worth it."

Bickslow used his free hand to awkwardly squeeze Cana's arm as he continued, "I don't care how awesome the world says he is, or how friendly he is. If he can't even be bothered to stick around long enough to listen to you then He. Isn't. Worth. This. He hasn't trained you to use magic, Fairy Tail has. He hasn't helped you when you were in trouble, Fairy Tail has. He hasn't raised you, **Fairy Tail has**. You don't need a dad who spends years at a time wandering wherever he pleases and only spends a day or two at the guild! You have Makarov-jiji, you have Enno, you have Mest and Macao and Wakaba and Richardo and Catherine and Levy and Laxus and Wren and me and **everyone else in Fairy Tail**."

Bickslow was forcing back the blurring of his own eyes at that point as he rambled, not sure what he was saying but trying so desperately to make a point, to stop the slow spiritual demise of one of the first people in Fairy Tail that he had dared call a friend, even if it was just in his own mind, "One stranger isn't worth these tears just because he's your father, Cana. He isn't worth it. He didn't even come to your mother's funeral Cana, so stop crying over him because he isn't worth it and **he never will be**. He isn't worth the **scars he's put on your soul**!"

Bickslow panted at the end of his rant. He felt drained and agitated and wanted nothing more than to just get up and run away from the feelings Cana's story had stirred. But he couldn't. Because it was like Laxus always said, Fairy Tail stuck together, no matter what. It didn't matter how often you fought with another member, or how different you were from that member, when they needed help, you came running and you stayed until you knew they were alright. It just … it just was.

Cana's sobs had drained away to the occasional sniffle as she stared at Bickslow with wide, shocked eyes, "Scars? On … my soul?"

Bickslow stilled as he realized that while he had given the guild information on Seith Magic and had, grudgingly, given a very basic overview of what Figure Eyes was, he had never explained to them in detail what Figure Eyes was like.

He ran a hand through his hair as he murmured, "It … you know how I said that I can see … auras with Figure Eyes?" Cana nodded, "Auras are more than just little outlines of light like in the storybooks. They're all kinds of colors and patterns that all mean different things depending on how you put them together. I … I can read what makes a person, that person, through their aura. I can see if they're sad, if they're happy, I can see if they've done bad things…"

He shifted, letting go of Cana and scooting subtly away from her in nervousness, "And sometimes, when a person is hurt enough and has no one or nothing to help them heal, I see this grey … spot that eats away at the other colors. Like a some kind of scar on their soul." Bickslow glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, fists clenched, and whispered, "I've seen people die because they never got the scar to stop growing, Cana. I've seen them kill themselves all because someone or something had broken their hearts so badly they could never put the pieces back together."

Cana's breath hitched and Bickslow forced himself to face her, "You've got two Cana. **Two** of them all wrapped around each other and they're still growing and it's **All**. **Gildarts**. **Fault**. You're spending so much time obsessing and crying over him that it's **hurting you** and it's keeping the scars from closing."

Cana stared at him, something akin to fear in her eyes and Bickslow swallowed down the urge to run away again, his voice going from angry and firm to weak and pleading, "So … please, stop it. He isn't worth it. Just … just stop. You already **have** a family don't you? You have everyone in Fairy Tail, why do you need one stupid old man who isn't even around most of the time?"

Cana lowered her gaze to the sand, "Scars on my soul…? I never- I just- But- But I promised Mother I would tell him…"

Bickslow bit back a nasty reply, he knew in the back of his mind that promises were important, especially to people you loved. Shaking his head, he scrambled for an answer and blurted, "Well, you're scared to tell him because he's this really powerful, famous mage right? So, do that." At Cana's blank look, Bickslow explained, "Become a really powerful, famous mage too. Then, once he isn't that big of a deal compared to you, just walk up, look him in the eye, tell him 'I'm your daughter' and walk away. There, promise fulfilled."

Cana's mouth formed a protest, but then slid into an "o" of comprehension as she whispered, "If … if I became an S-Class mage too, then he'd **have** to listen to me. I … I'd even be able to follow him on his jobs and make him listen to me…"

Bickslow nodded, "There, see? But until then, just forget about him okay? Focus on the people who actually **care** about you."

Cana sniffled once, twice, then suddenly threw her arms around Bickslow's neck in a hug, her words muffled against his shoulder as she buried her face into it, "Thank you, Bickslow."

Bickslow's body when rigid, his heart crawling up into his throat in surprise at Cana's spontaneous motion. He'd honestly expected her to … push him or slap him or something, especially after he talked about the invasiveness of Figure Eyes. Even if he had expected a positive reaction, a hug had not been on the list of possible positive actions. A strange feeling swept through him, making his skin tingle and he impulsively pushed Cana away, "Tch. I'm just stating the obvious, Shark."

Cana allowed him to push her away, a tiny smile pulling at her lips as she huffed, "Right. Whatever, Bicks _aho_." On an unspoken signal, the two stood up and dusted off their clothes. Cana sniffled and ran her arm over her eyes one last time before she straightened up and they began to walk back to the guild.

Without either of their conscious decision, they didn't separate on the walk back. They moved side by side, not touching, but close enough that they could still feel the other's presence as they marched. Their feet tapped quiet, matching rhythms on the ground as they moved from sand to more solid earth and then to the cobblestones of the road. It wasn't that far of a walk back to the guild, but they walked slow enough to make it last several minutes of contemplative silence.

Bickslow's tikis drifted closer to him, Pappa giving a whispered voice in his ear to the idea that had begun to float around his head. He gave a faint scowl and gently swatted the tiki away, _no way. She'd never agree to it. Even if she did, I'd have to ask the others' permission first._ Pappa drifted close and whispered it again, the tiki's action spawned by his own persistent puzzling over the idea. "Wouldn't mind, wouldn't mind," whispered Pappa, "Wren was fine, Wren was fine."

The others joined in as well and Bickslow shooed them away with exaggerated flaps of his arms. Cana shot him a curious look and Bickslow felt heat spill across the tips of his ears and his cheeks as he explained without prompting, "They do that when I have an idea I'm concentrating on."

Cana wrinkled her nose, "That sounds annoying."

Bickslow shrugged and herded Pippi away from his head again, trying not to feel awkward talking to Cana after the conversation they had just had, "Kinda."

Cana eyed the tikis and then shook her head, "I'm so glad my cards can't do that."

"That's 'cause your cards are boring." The retort slipped out of Bickslow's mouth automatically and he winced a moment later. From behind his sunglasses, he shot Cana a panicked look, half-expecting her to burst into tears again.

Instead of tears, Cana just cuffed him and snarked back, "At least **my** magic doesn't talk back."

Bickslow rubbed the back of his head and snorted, "Yeah, yeah, whatever Shark."

They bantered and argued the rest of the way to the guild doors. Not their usual shouting and fighting, but enough that the tension between them faded away and the guild members who had been watching the doors anxiously for their return relaxed the moment the two came into earshot.

Cana and Bickslow paused in the doorway, their gazes locking for a moment and the understanding that they would not speak of what had happened on the beach passing between them. Cana gave Bickslow the tiniest smile, an act which made his stomach flop for reasons lost on him, and she made to head off to a different section of the guild hall. Bickslow walked a few steps in the direction of the waiting Laxus and Wren when he suddenly turned and loped over to Cana's side, "Hey, Shark!"

Cana stopped gave him a puzzled look, "What?"

Bickslow shot a glance at Laxus before he gathered his courage and voiced the idea that had been pestering him on the way back, "Laxus, Wren, and I hold training sessions at training area seven at five-thirty every morning."

Cana hesitated, her eyes glittering with something akin to disbelief, "Are you… inviting me to train with you? Will Laxus-kun allow that?"

Bickslow shrugged, "It was originally just him and me, but he was fine with Wren joining in, so I'm sure he won't mind one more. Warning though," he leveled a serious look at her, "Laxus doesn't train by half-measures. If you join in, you'll be expected to keep up and **get stronger**. No popping in whenever you feel like it either. Unless you're sick, you either show up every time or don't show up at all, got it?"

Cana's eyes had gone wide as soon as he had said "get stronger", realization flashing through her eyes as she whispered, "You … you mean you .. this is to…"

Bickslow looked away with an uncomfortable scowl and lowered his voice, "I don't care about … that guy. But there's no way I'm letting a fellow member of Fairy Tail go around with unstable aura scars. If getting strong enough to keep your promise to your mom is what it takes to stabilize those scars … then I have a duty as a fellow Fairy Tail member to help you get stronger."

Cana watched him with an unreadable expression for several long seconds and Bickslow crossed his arms uncomfortably. He had had enough soul-bearing and trying to comfort people for the day. Check that, the **year**. He just wanted things to go back to normal and for Cana to stop staring at him with that strange gleam in her eyes.

Finally, Cana nodded and whispered, "If you're really sure Laxus-kun and Wren-chan won't mind … I'll be there."

Bickslow gave a grunt of acknowledgement and walked away, stubbornly ignoring the way the other guild members gossiped about the unheard interaction all around him. He slid into his usual seat next to Wren and Laxus gave him a quizzical look from across the table. Bickslow hunched his shoulders and muttered, "I apologized."

"And…?" Laxus raised an eyebrow as he drew out the word. He knew that there was more to it than that, they'd been away for almost two hours after all.

Bickslow gave an uneasy shrug, "Cana's going to be joining our training regimen." He braced his shoulders, waiting for Laxus to demand a more detailed explanation and feeling thoroughly drained for the day.

Instead, Laxus just looked him up and down and then rolled his shoulders nonchalantly, "Okay then, I'll adjust the routines to fit four."

Bickslow shot Laxus a grateful look at his lack of questions and Laxus waved the look off with a lazy hand. The leader of the _Raijinshū_ seemed to consider something for a moment before he stood up and made his way to the bar with the vague statement of, "I'm hungry, I'll grab us something to eat."

Bickslow grunted a wordless thanks and watched the blond leave, glad for once that Wren was grounded because of the stunt she'd pulled on Gildarts and that Laxus had said they wouldn't go on missions without her. _Wait. Stunt on Gildarts…_ a flash of intuition flickered through him and Bickslow frowned. Wren made a concerned little whistle, but he waved it off and forced a smile onto his face for her benefit. _It couldn't be … could it? Cana never told anyone but me about Gildarts being her … dad. So there's no way Wren knew … right?_

The question plagued him for the rest of the day. Even during their extra training sessions with Laxus, it niggled at the back of his mind like an itch he couldn't reach or scratch.

Finally, when the three of them had gone back to the lighthouse for the night and Wren was crawling into the bed next to his in their room, Bickslow found his mouth opening and words spilling out before he could think better of it, "Wren?" Wren looked over at him curiously, "Did you know?"

For a moment, she just looked confused. Then realization flashed across her face, she paled, and her limbs began to shake faintly. Bickslow stared at her in growing concern and suspicion, " _Imōto_?" Wren's gaze dropped to the floor, unresponsive to his question.

Sliding off of his bed, Bickslow crossed the room and stood before her, "Wren. Did you know about Cana's secret?"

Wren blanched even further and refused to meet his gaze, her breath beginning to come out in gasps. Bickslow swallowed hard and lightly grabbed her hands, ignoring the hurt that flickered through him when she flinched at his touch, " _Imōto_ , tell me the truth. Did you know about Gildarts? Is that why you ran off with his posters? To delay him long enough for Cana to talk to him?"

Wren was shaking so badly it was making his hands move up and down in time with hers and he didn't need Figure Eyes to tell she was terrified. Finally, she gave a tiny nod, her eyes squeezed tightly shut so as not to see his expression. Bickslow felt surprise steal the air from his lungs, "…how?"

Hazel eyes opened and looked at him pleadingly, desperately, and he swallowed hard at the tears he could see in them. Bickslow squeezed his little sister's hands, trying to calm her down, "I'm not going to hurt you, Wren, I promise." Guilt flashed through her eyes and she tried to pull away. Bickslow just held on more tightly and risked a quick glance at her with Figure Eyes.

Fear, guilt, confusion, remembrance, and grief rolled though her aura like a storm and Bickslow wondered distantly why today was apparently his day to be the voice of comfort to females he knew. He was tired and wanted to go to bed, frankly.

But this was his little sister, he couldn't leave things like this, not until he had answers.

"Can you tell me how you know-" Wren bolted suddenly, leaping off the bed and escaping his startled grip. She ran down the stairs to the other parts of the house, Bickslow hot on her heels, "Wren! Wren wait!"

Bickslow's shout drew Laxus out of the guest room that had officially become Laxus's room a while ago and he followed after them as Wren flew out of the house in her pajamas. Bickslow followed after her, eventually catching up as she circled the house and came to a stop on the edge of the cliff the lighthouse was built upon. For a moment, visceral terror went through Bickslow at the direction she took, but all she did was drop onto her knees and hug herself tightly with shaking shoulders.

Skidding to a stop a foot or two behind for fear of making her bolt again, Bickslow called, "Wren!"

Laxus jogged up behind him, shivering slightly in the night air as he hissed, "What's going on?"

Bickslow shook his head, "I don't know … I just asked her a question- I didn't mean to- to…" he shook his head again and took a tentative step closer to his sister, "Wren, it's okay. I promise. Whatever it is, you can tell me." Wren's shoulders continued to shake but she made no move to run as the two boys came slowly closer until they were crouched on either side of her, each laying a hand on her shoulder.

Wren wasn't crying, much to Bickslow's surprise and relief, but she was gasping and shuddering as if she was somehow drowning right there in the night air. Bickslow scanned her aura with Figure Eyes again and found his attention drawn to her aura scar. It wasn't growing, but it was … shining somehow. No, not shining, just standing out much more blatantly than normal.

Laxus rubbed her shoulder with an awkward hand and shot Bickslow a look that demanded an explanation. Bickslow dared to ignore it as he whispered to Wren, "It's okay. It's okay, Wren, whatever it is, however you know, I won't leave or make you leave or hate you or anything like that. Laxus won't either, I promise. We're _Raijinshū_ , remember? We stick together."

Somehow, this seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Wren's gasps shifted to some kind of silent, hysterical laughter and her aura scar twitched faintly. Bickslow bit his lip as he realized the scar was close to destabilizing and he wished desperately that he had never asked his question.

Laxus shot Bickslow a wild, frightened look. He couldn't see Wren's aura, but anyone who looked at her huddled there on the ground, silently laughing as if she was about to shatter from fear, could tell that something was very wrong.

Bickslow swallowed hard, he had no idea what to do. He couldn't just tell her to forget it, that would just make things worse because one of her biggest emotions at the moment was guilt. Guilt for keeping it a secret, guilt for knowing, he wasn't sure which, but it was a deep ugly guilt that would not go away if ignored.

"Please, Wren," he whispered pleadingly, "talk to us."

Slowly, Wren stopped laughing and just sat there, staring off into the distance, watching the moonlight refract off of the lake. He recognized the look in her eyes, the way the hazel orbs glazed over with a dull detachment, like the world and everything in it wasn't real, wasn't there.

He bit his lip and was about to ask Laxus to help carry her inside, when Wren slowly lifted her hands and signed, _"I saw."_

Bickslow stilled as he watched her hands. When she didn't say anything else, he dared to probe, "Saw what, _Imōto_?"

Wren didn't look away from the lake as she signed with shaking fingers, " _I saw Cana. I saw why she cries."_ Wren swallowed hard and took a shuddering breath. Closing her eyes, she continued to sign in broken, silent sentences, _"I have pictures,"_ she touched her temple, _"In my mind. I have voices. Events. Things I shouldn't know. I knew Fairy Tail before … before Mest."_ She pulled her gaze away from the lake to glance briefly at Bickslow before she added, _"I knew you. I knew you Before."_

Bickslow inhaled sharply, _knew me? Knew Fairy Tail? All before …_ "When did you know?"

Wren traced the scar over her throat and stared at him with sad eyes that were suddenly too old for her face and signed again, _"Before."_

The bluenette exhaled slowly, trying to wrap his head around it all, "How?"

Wren started to sign something, then tried to sign something else. She gave half of a whistle before cutting it off with a frustrated look. She bit her lip hard enough Bickslow was afraid it would bleed before she signed, _"I don't know. I don't know why."_ She traced a hand over her throat again before she twitched out the words, _"I should have died."_

" **Don't say that**!" The words exploded out of Bickslow's mouth as he hovered over her protectively, fear shooting through his veins at the realization that his little sister believed she should have died from her wound.

Laxus gave a frustrated and worried sigh, "Can someone **please** translate. I can only catch about every other sentence of what she's saying here."

Momentarily distracted, Bickslow demanded, "What did you get?"

Laxus shrugged helplessly, "That she knows … something, about Fairy Tail maybe? Or you? But she doesn't know how and it's related to her scar." He paused and added in a low tone, "Tell me I mistranslated the part where she said she should have died."

Bickslow shook his head grimly, "That's the gist of it and no, you didn't mistranslate."

Laxus's jaw tightened and his free hand fisted, "Why? Because she knows … something?"

Bickslow glanced at Wren for confirmation and she shrugged helplessly, _"Can't tell. No words."_ Bickslow growled in frustration, their made-up language of whistles and hand-signs was in-depth, but there were still things Wren couldn't convey simply because there was no way to guess what she was trying to say with her hands. For the hundredth time, Bickslow swore vengeance on whoever had stolen Wren's voice from her.

Laxus, thankfully, got them back on topic, "So, let me see if I have this straight. Wren here knows something that she shouldn't, or knew it before she should have, and people tried to kill her for it when she was **three** , but they didn't and now she's scared stiff of anyone asking her about … whatever it is. Even us?"

Both boys looked at Wren for confirmation and she stared blankly at the lake for several seconds in thought before she signed, _"Yes. Sort of. I can't explain. Even if I could…"_ she took a shaky breath and look at them with pleading eyes, _"I can't say. I … I can't tell about them. The pictures in my head. They aren't mine to tell. I want to tell you but I just-"_

To Bickslow distant surprise, Laxus was the one to reach out and gently push Wren's hands down, "It's fine. You can't tell us about … whatever it is you know or how you know, right? That's fine."

Bickslow blinked, "It is?"

Laxus rubbed the back of his neck tiredly, "Sure. I trust Wren, she's one of us and she's your little sister. Whatever it is she knows, she won't use it to hurt Fairy Tail, and if she can't tell us now then we'll just have to wait until she can." He hesitated and then added, "She probably has some kind of Seer magic. Either Divination or one of the rarer variants." Wren gave a snort of disbelief and Laxus retorted lazily, "I don't see you coming up with a better explanation."

Bickslow wrinkled his nose as he and Laxus stood up to prevent leg cramps. As he absently pulled Wren to her feet as well, he asked, "But that would mean she had three magics. Can people even have three magics?"

Laxus rubbed his forehead tiredly as he tried to remember the required information, "People can learn as many different magics as they want, they just won't be able to master them all. But Eye Magic develops pretty much at random and Shadow Magic is classified as a 'learned magic'. Divination and other Seer magics are **hereditary**."

Wren shot Laxus an unreadable look and Bickslow blinked, "It's what now?"

Laxus propped his hands on his hips, "Passed down through family generations. Like having your father's eyes or mother's hair color. You're just … born with it." He looked down at Wren, "Sound about right?"

Wren gave a hesitant nod and Laxus's gaze darkened briefly. He exchanged a look with Bickslow, both of them thinking along similar lines. Perhaps Wren's blood family had been murdered for their hereditary magic. It would make a lot of sense, especially with Wren's terror at being discovered.

Laxus abruptly stretched his arms over his head "Well," he yawned widely, "Divination is hardly the strangest magic to join Fairy Tail and if you don't want anyone else to know, it's no ones business but yours. So how about we go to bed and talk about it more in the morning if we have to. Okay?"

Wren nodded and, after checking her yet again with Figure Eyes, Bickslow sighed faintly in relief as he saw that she had mostly calmed down. Brushing her shoulders with a hand again, Bickslow helped Laxus herd Wren back inside and up to their room. Laxus bid them a gruff goodnight before tromping back down the stairs and Bickslow hovered worriedly over his little sister's bedside as she crawled under the covers.

He hesitated for a moment then asked, "Wren?" Wren looked up at him inquiringly, the weariness and unnerving impression of a gaze much too old for her body still hovering in the back of her eyes as Bickslow swallowed and pushed on, "If you need anything, I'm right over there okay? I'm not going anywhere without you, no matter what, so just … remember that, alright?"

Wren finally, finally gave a faint smile and a nod. She mouthed an apology at him and Bickslow ruffled her hair on instinct, "It's fine, _Imōto_ , that's what big brothers are for, ne?" Wren's smile grew a bit bigger and, satisfied that he had averted yet another emotional crisis, Bickslow bid her goodnight and turned off the light. He drifted off immediately after climbing into his own bed, too drained from dealing with so much emotion and drama in one day to put off sleep any longer.

If he had, he might have seen Wren sit up and stare at him for a very long time, the too-old gaze back in full force as she pondered things he would not have understood. He might have seen her toss and turn for an hour into the night before giving up and climbing silently up into the observation deck, where she spent the hours until midnight watching the stars and thinking about a life no longer lived.

But he did not, and so he was not troubled by any of it.

After all, if life was just a story, what would the characters know of the plot?

* * *

 **Japanese Translations: Imōto - Little Sister (seriously, shouldn't everyone reading this story know this one by now? Oh well.)**

 **Bicksaho - Insulting nickname, essentially Bicks-moron.**


	21. Chapter 20: Train Rides and Robberies

**Hello all! I return with a chapter! Hopefully this one will be more cheerful and entertaining, despite the minor cliffy at the end.**

 **Review Response: Dear Lightsbane1905, greetings! Yeah, I can totally see what you mean. A while back, I even went and double-checked what issue of the manga Wren would have last read before coming to Earthland. I try to keep plot holes like that from forming, I really do.**

 **Dear powerrangersfan364, hey there! Bickslow is turning into a very lovable character, isn't he?**

 **Dear Ori Heartlyng, hello! Yeah, Wren's life isn't all sunshine and Fairy Tail Luck. Still, she'll be okay, she's got Bickslow and Laxus to keep an eye on her. Oh, I have plans for their appearance (cackles faintly), we just need to get through a few things first. Glad to hear it! I'm always happy when other people enjoy my stories! Hmm, well, wait a few years (in the story timeline, not literally of course) and I'll be open to pairing suggestions. They could end up being a cute couple though...**

 **Dear 9462641/Zokoi19 (not sure which you prefer), hi there! Wow, I was hoping the chapter would provoke feels, but I didn't think it would do all that to you. I'm ... partly pleased and partly apologetic to be honest. (Offers tissues) There, there? I'm glad we agree on the idiocy of "dies and is totally cool with it" kind of story, I'm also very glad Wren's reactions and such makes sense to you. I'm having a lot of fun fleshing out Bickslow's powers, I really wish the guy got more screen-time in the anime. Bickslow and Cana are too young for me to even consider shipping them right now. But, when they are older ... yeah, I could see that happening. Depends on them though, really, the characters stole the plot of this story about 18 chapters ago. Hmm, we'll have to see. I may do a one-shot detailing Wren's POV of that chapter sometime, but only if the inspiration for it really, really strikes me. The reason I jump POVs so much is to avoid getting stuck, so unless the muses cooperate, trying to rewrite the chapter from Wren's perspective would be a futile endeavor. Sorry. Anyway, it depends what you mean by 'something'. He definitely saw how distressed she was and such like, but other than that I'm not sure how to answer your question. Perhaps the word you are looking for about the last paragraph is 'bittersweet'? Or maybe 'tragic'? Just a thought. I hope you enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear Kuna Longshanks, hello there! Well, Wren has been bottling up that reaction for about three years, so I felt a meltdown was justified. Wren knows a little about the Alvarez Empire Arc, yes, but she never got a chance to read its conclusion. Her knowledge of the Fairy Tail storyline goes up to about ... volume 53, I think? That was released in April and this story started in may/june, so her foreknowledge stops thereabouts. I have a lot of fun with Bickslow, he's a blast to write and flesh out as a character. Thank you, I hope you enjoy this newest chapter!**

 **Dear Pixie, hi! Thank you, I was hoping that would all make sense. It's kinda fun having the characters put two and two together and get three instead, even if its about a very serious matter. It ... really does, doesn't it? Poor Cana. No worries though, things will cheer up for them in a bit.**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, heya! Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Runaway chapters are both the most frustrating and the most gratifying, oddly enough...**

 **Dear Guest, hello! Aw, thank you! Describing the auras of various characters was fun, actually. Here's an update I hope you enjoy!**

 **Dear BizzyLizzy, greetings! Glad you think so. I suppose I just need to learn to trust the characters more when they declare that the chapter will go a certain way, even if that way goes against my plot notes.**

 **Dear Wandering Mage011, hi! Thank you, I tried. Heh, Wren is, unintentionally, becoming something of a precursor to Erza in the matter of keeping Fairy Tail mages in line. By the time Erza comes along, the guild will probably be very well trained in how to respond to say, the "Fairy Girls death glare". I dislike writing angst, but like you said, sometimes it's necessary for a story. Hmm, that would be adorable! I'll see if I can coax Laxus into it sometime. Might take a while though.**

 **Author's Note: Okay, so, hopefully everyone will find this chapter as fun to read as I had writing it. It's the first part of a multi-chapter mini-arc so to speak, so tighten your seat belts ladies, gentlemen, and exceeds, because Fairy Tail Luck is about to strike again! Now, I could have put this chapter off and continued to cover Cana's and Wren's emotional recovery from the previous chapter and such but ... I figured two chapters of angst in one sitting was enough if I could possibly help it. Therefore, this chapter takes place after a short timeskip. Also, there's a Cliffhanger warning on this chapter. Just a heads up. Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty: Train Rides and Robberies.**

 **(Three months, two weeks, two days since joining the guild)**

"Yo, Cana!" Cana looked up in surprise as the _Raijinshū_ approached her table, a job poster in Laxus's hand.

Cana blinked, "Hi guys, what's up?"

Laxus gave her a dry look, "We're heading out for a job, let's go."

She sputtered and dropped the cards she'd been shuffling, "Wait, me? Why do I have to go?"

Bickslow tilted his head, "You want to get stronger right? So you need more field experience."

Laxus elaborated, "We're going on a Team job. Jobs that require Mage teams are often harder, but they're much better for gaining experience. Plus, when Fairy Tail Luck kicks in, you have backup." He held out the poster for her inspection and she snatched it eagerly to read over the contents.

"You don't have to come," he drawled with a shrug as she read, "but since you've been doing so well in training lately and Wren is finally free to go on missions again, we thought you might want to come along."

Cana frowned in thought as she passed the poster back, "I don't know. I haven't had very good experiences with treasure hunting jobs. Too many predators and pitfalls and stuff."

Bickslow rolled his eyes from behind his sunglasses, "That's what **backup** and **rope** is for."

Cana shot Bickslow a scathing look at his tone, but rolled the idea over in her mind a few times despite herself. Finally, she nodded and stood up, "Alright, I'll come." Laxus gave her a look of mild approval that surprised her while Bickslow merely shrugged and Wren patted her hand approvingly.

Together, the four kids alerted Ricard to which job they were taking and, after a brief stop at Cana's house to grab her travel pack, were on their way to the Magnolia train station.

.

.

* * *

.

.

Rihanna sat back against the train seat and watched the landscape roll by. On the seat across from her, Laxus gave the bickering Cana and Bickslow a look of annoyance. She knew without turning her attention away from the window that other passengers in the train car were doing the same. _I don't know why everyone else is so annoyed. They're not acting up nearly as much as they did before._ A flicker of memory from two weeks ago rose in her mind before Rihanna pushed it firmly away. She didn't want to think about the disaster with Gildarts or the panic attack that followed.

"Wren." Rihanna looked away from the outside view at Laxus low mutter. The blond thumbed at Bickslow and Cana, who were now standing in the narrow isle between their seats, heads pressed together as their argument grew louder.

Rihanna rolled her eyes at Laxus's silent command but obediently reached out with her shadows and slapped the two across the backs of their heads. Bickslow and Cana paused in mid-word to look at her and she leveled a dark glare at them before motioning pointedly to their respective seats. Both of them blanched just a bit and sat down immediately, causing Laxus to chuckle faintly, "She's got you two well trained."

Bickslow and Cana bristled at the same time, mouths twisting to retort when Rihanna gave a low hiss through her teeth. Laxus watched in amusement as two sets of teeth snapped together sharply at the noise and two argumentative team members settled down without another word. He glanced over at Rihanna, "Think you could teach me to do that?"

Ignoring Bickslow's horrified look at the prospect of Laxus learning Rihanna's secrets to keeping order, Rihanna shook her head and signed, _"Nope. Sorry. It's a girl thing."_

Laxus gave her a puzzled look, "… 'girl thing'? Bickslow, did I translate that right?"

Bickslow shrugged, "I don't get it either. I always thought it was just a Wren thing. Shark over there certainly can't do it."

Cana snapped automatically, "Don't call me Shark," before she turned her attention to Wren, "I don't get it either, Wren-chan. I don't think I've ever met another girl who glares like you do."

Rihanna waved off the unspoken question and fought to keep her expression neutral, _just wait a few years and then you'll see what I mean._ At her dismissal of the topic, silence fell over their little section of the train for all of ten seconds before Puppu queried, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" Pappa and Pippi immediately took up the cry as well, forming a three-part chorus that would have been charming if that had not been the fifteenth time it had spontaneously formed.

Cana growled in her throat and reached for her card purse, "Bicks _aho_ …"

Bickslow flailed his arms at his tikis as he protested, "It isn't my fault!" Cana, Laxus, and Rihanna all leveled identical looks of skepticism at him and he amended sheepishly, "I'm not telling them to do that! They're just reacting to my emotional state! It's a side-effect of the magic!"

Cana waved one of her paralysis cards threateningly, "Well entertain yourself or something!"

Bickslow threw his hands in the air in frustration while Pappa, Pippi, and Puppu switched their chorus to, "How, how, how?"

Cana pulled back to throw her card only to be stopped by Laxus grabbing her wrist and droning, "Civilians in the car."

Cana tried to tug her arm free, "I'm not aiming at the civilians!"

Laxus didn't even seem to notice her emphatic attempts to free her wrist, "Bickslow's tikis are fast, you might miss."

Bickslow laughed, "Yeah right! She'd definitely miss! There's no way my tikis would lose to her cards!"

"You mean like how you lost to her last week in a sparring match?" Laxus's bland retort made Bickslow deflate with a scowl.

Cana was now attempting to pry Laxus's fingers loose, "Just one shot to shut him up. Come on, Laxus-kun!"

Bickslow stood up from his seat again, "Bring it on, Shark!"

Cana jerked her whole body against the hand holding her wrist in place, "Let go!"

Laxus tilted his head to one side and let his eyes droop into a deceptively relaxed half-lidded expression, "Fine. I'll let you go," Cana brightened and Bickslow's tikis chattered excitedly, "if the two of you will be Wren's and my long-range spell targets for the next three weeks."

Rihanna watched in amusement as Bickslow and Cana went still as marble statues, even paling to the point that they almost matched the hue of the stone they were impersonating. Her amusement grew into silent chuckles as Cana very slowly relaxed into Laxus's grip and Bickslow pointedly sat down, his tikis slinking under the seat with meek chitters.

Laxus studied the two for several long seconds before he released Cana's wrist and ordered, "If you two are that bored, go explore the train or something. Just **don't** blow anything up. Or damage the cargo. Or traumatize the civilians. Or … anything else that would give _Jiji_ more paperwork to deal with. He's got bad enough arthritis in his hands as it is."

The bluenette and the brunette exchanged unsure glances before shooting questioning looks at Rihanna. Rihanna blinked, _why do they need_ ** _my_** _permission? Laxus is the leader here._ Still, she made a shooing motion and, after convincing Bickslow that yes, she would be just fine sitting here watching the scenery with Laxus, the two wandered off to explore the rest of the train.

Laxus and Rihanna shared grateful looks at the blissful lack of fighting and chittering tiki dolls before Laxus went back to his book and Rihanna went back to watching the landscape and mulling over her latest problem. Well, not necessarily her **latest** problem, just the one that had been dragged to the forefront of her mind for the past two weeks.

The problem was her future knowledge. More specifically, what she should do about it and how she could safely preserve it. Because she was under no illusions as to whether she'd be able to remember all the important parts without something physical to jog her memory. It had already been three years and some odd months since she'd seen the anime or read the manga and who knew what crucial details she'd already forgotten.

Her first instinct was to write down everything she could remember, but then there was the problem of how to keep that item - or items - secure from unwanted eyes. She could encode the knowledge, but she was terrible at codes and simply writing it in english wouldn't work because she had seen the occasional english sign and had heard sprinklings of english words in conversations over the years.

As far as she could tell, english was some kind of semi-dead, semi-assimilated language in Earthland. Which meant that while finding someone who could read, write, or speak english fluently was very, very hard, it might not be impossible. And considering just how Fairy Tail Luck worked, that "almost impossible but not quite" would turn into a "has happened in the worst possible way" if she wasn't careful.

Ideally, she either needed a way to lock the item so that no one could read it except her, or she needed a place to hide it where it was guaranteed to remain undiscovered. She knew there were magic spells that could do those things, the killer-flute from the Lullaby arc had been sealed somehow if she recalled, but considering the seal had been mentioned only in the context of getting broken, she was not filled with confidence about that option.

Besides, where would she learn something like magic sealing when she couldn't read Japanese yet? Plus, how would she gain the needed proficiency in it in time to write down her memories before they faded away completely?

Rihanna sighed and pressed her forehead against the cool windowpane in an effort to soothe her growing headache. There had to be a simple, safe answer that she was either forgetting or didn't know yet. Whatever that answer was, she needed to find it soon. Her attempt with Gildarts and Cana had proven just how stupid it was to wing something as delicate as rewriting the "plot" of the world and Bickslow's questions that horrible night had proven that she needed to be careful if she didn't want news of her "divination magic" to be known to every villain in the Fiore and beyond.

Rihanna tapped her fingers against her leg as she scowled. She was … lucky that Bickslow and Laxus had handled her breakdown the way they did. After that night, neither boy had mentioned her "third magic" or questioned her further about it. They had just hovered protectively for the majority of a week before allowing her to go out shopping with Cana and Levy. The trip had successfully cheered up both Rihanna and Cana and things had mostly returned to normal, but the memories of the incident still bothered her.

She had been so terrified when Bickslow had figured out that she had known about Gildarts' relationship with Cana. Scared out of her mind when he had asked how because what could she say? That she had learned it all in an anime? A story? That Bickslow had been just a character in an entertaining fantasy before that day she'd woken up just outside Aternum and wandered inside looking for help?

She couldn't tell him that. She could **never** tell him, any of them, that truth. Not only would they never believe her but … it would hurt. Saying those words would hurt not just them, but her in a way that could never be fixed. If she did and they believed her for some reason, they would want to know why she didn't say something earlier. Worse, they want to know their futures and wouldn't understand her refusal to tell them. But what would she be able to say?

That the _Raijinshū_ would turn their backs on their guild? That Laxus would be exiled from the guild? That a dragon would nearly rip Gildarts apart and then attempt to destroy Fairy Tail's sacred island while Makarov and a bunch of **children** were on it? That they would be trapped in time for **seven years** while the rest of the guild fell into disarray and was abused by a bunch of bullies?

What about the Grand Magic Games? The future that Lucy died to rewrite so that she would never have to see her family burn under the rage of dragons? Or what about Gray, Lucy, Macao, Jet, Droy, and so many others dying until Ultear gave away the majority of her remaining years to buy them a single minute in which to change their fates?

A low hiss escaped her teeth as she thought about the manga she had taken to reading after finishing the anime.

What about the Alvarez Empire arc she never got to finish? That, above all other arcs, had been horrible to Fairy Tail. To be caught in an impossible situation, against an army even more devastating than the dragons of the Grand Magic Games or the demons of Tartaros, with no way out but forward and even that having almost no hope of survival.

No. She could never tell them about those things.

Rihanna had been trying to avoid so much as thinking about those things for a long time now. But the Gildarts debacle and Bickslow's questions had forced it all back into her mind and now she couldn't let it go. She had to do … something. Find a way to remember it all so that she could help out Fairy Tail as best she could. Even if they survived everything in the storyline, that had just been a story. This was real now and there was no way she was going to simply let her guild, her family, go through all of that if she could possibly help it.

But how to preserve her knowledge without risking it falling into uncharitable hands?

"Wren?" Rihanna blinked out of her endless circle of frustrated thoughts and shifted her gaze to Laxus. Laxus had laid his book on his lap and was studying her intently, "Are you alright?"

Rihanna smiled weakly at him and Laxus narrowed his eyes, "You aren't alright."

Her smile dropped at the conviction in his voice and she sat up wearily. There was no point in trying to lie to him, Laxus had some kind of built in lie-detector when it came to his friends and was as stubborn as a rock if he wanted to be. Raising her hands, she signed, _"I'm fine. Just thinking."_

Laxus squinted at her hands before he asked, "You looked more like you had a headache. What's bothering you?"

Rihanna hesitated, wavering between diverting the conversation or stating a water-down version of the truth. After several seconds of arguing with herself over which option to take, her hands moved almost without her consent, _"The pictures in my head. I want some way to remember them."_

Laxus's eyebrows shot up, then his expression shifted to a thoughtful one, "They fade over time?"

Rihanna shrugged, _"Yes."_

Laxus rubbed his chin, "I'd suggest writing them down, but you can't write yet…"

Rihanna bit her lip and confided, _"I'm afraid of someone seeing them. If I wrote them down. I'm afraid someone would steal the pictures and hurt people with them."_

Laxus's lips moved silently as he deciphered her sentences. He was getting fairly good at translating, but he lacked the experience needed for rapid translation. When he finally decoded her hand-signs, he tilted his head, "That's a good point. You'd need a way to hide it…"

Rihanna shot him a "no duh" look that needed no translation and Laxus huffed, "Right, right, you already know that." Bookmarking his place in his novel, Laxus set it aside, "I'll think it over, see if I can come up with any ideas. Anything in particular I should know about your … pictures?"

It was a probe made out of concern, but Rihanna still shook her head violently and subconsciously cringed away from him. Concern flashed over Laxus's face for a moment and he leaned forward, hands out placatingly, "Whoa, easy, Wren. I'm not going to pry, I promise. It's okay. I won't ask further or get mad or anything like that. Just stay calm."

Rihanna forced herself to take deep, slow breaths to lower her heart rate back to normal, _calm down. You shouldn't be so jumpy, you need to remain calm. You know Laxus, you trust him, he's fine, just calm down. You shouldn't freak out so badly over a stupid question. Just calm-_

An muffled, teeth-rattling "whoomph" rippled through the train car and Rihanna was thrown violently forward out of her seat as the entire train shuddered under the force of the explosion. Laxus caught her clumsily and, after a few moments of them both trying to regain and keep their footing, they exchanged looks, "Bickslow and Cana?"

Rihanna ignored the other screaming passengers of the train car as she signed, _"Bickslow and Cana."_

Laxus growled and began pushing his way through the standing throng of agitated civilians, Rihanna close at his heels, "By the great Tenrōjima Tree, it's been **fifteen minutes**."

 _Really? I'm surprised they've been quiet this long._ She kept that thought to herself however, and focused on keeping up with Laxus as he pushed his way to the back of the car and flung open the door.

The wind howled and buffeted them the moment the door was pushed aside and Rihanna fought back a spell of nausea at the sight of the ground rushing away just outside and below. _This is not a good idea! This is_ ** _really_** _not a good idea!_

Laxus studied the short yet potentially fatal distance between them and the next train car and roared over the wind, "Think you can make that, Wren?" Rihanna triple-checked the distance, then decided it wasn't worth it the risk and grabbed Laxus's wrist. Laxus looked down questioningly as Rihanna mentally reached out to the shadows. Whispers of velvet curled up her arms and flashes of images spun beneath her eyelids as she focused on locating a proper shadow.

Train tracks blurring away beneath her, _nope._ The underside of a passenger seat, _nope._ Beneath a table in the dining car, _maybe…_ More glimpses of the locations of various train cars flashed by as she stretched her senses out farther down the long line of cars. Being able to see where a shadow would put her was a relatively new facet of her Shadow Magic, and took a lot of concentration to sort out. But it was very useful for determining where to teleport when in unfamiliar territory. If she could just find the right shadow…

There was a flash of green light behind her eyelids and the impression of whirling action. _Bickslow!_ The shadows were twisting too fast, changing shape too rapidly for Rihanna to grab them properly and she mentally backtracked one train car. Light filtered in through the slitted windows, lengthening the shadows of the cargo boxes and Rihanna tightened her grip on a confused Laxus before she pulled.

Freezing darkness swallowed them and Rihanna felt the cold creep down her throat warningly as she was delayed slightly by the shadows' resistance to her passenger. Then, just as the cold was becoming dangerous, they were free again, stumbling to keep their footing in the shaking and shuddering cargo car.

Laxus leaned against a pile of boxes, wheezing heavily and shivering, "A little … warning next time … Wren!"

Rihanna righted herself and shook off the cold in her limbs with difficulty, _note to self. Work on teleporting with a person-sized passenger more. That wasn't fun._ She began to frame an apology to Laxus when an explosion suddenly shook the air and they were both instinctively lunging to one side to avoid a hail of wood fragments.

Sunlight poured in, almost blinding her with the sudden extra illumination and, after a few blinks, Rihanna gaped in shock at the state of the cargo car. The majority of the left wall was gone along with about half of the right wall. The roof was missing entirely and a good portion of the boxes that had once been in the car were destroyed, their contents rolling around on the floor amid the debris, _What in the name of Pantherlily? Even Bickslow and Cana together wouldn't do that!_

Rihanna looked around frantically for a glimpse of her brother and friend, or the source of the explosion, when Laxus roared over the wind, "What the h-" Another explosion, no, another **cannon ball** whipped over their heads, sending them diving for cover and drowning out Laxus's words.

Still, Rihanna shared the intended sentiment as she dived out of the way of the access smoke. Rolling to her feet, Rihanna stared at the … thing rolling along at high speeds next to the train and tried to determine if she was hallucinating. A quick pinch to her skin made her conclude that no, she was somehow not hallucinating.

There was a pirate ship shooting cannon balls at the train.

An actual legitimate pirate ship, complete with three masts, billowing sails, a jolly roger, and lots of angry pirates.

With no bodies of water, large or small, anywhere in sight for miles.

 _Why in the name of Igneel would you put a pirate ship on_ ** _wheels_** _? Is that even possible? No wait, it's totally possible. Blast Fairy Tail Luck. This just isn't fair!_ Laxus pulled her out of her thoughts when he grabbed her sleeve and shouted, "Over there!" Tearing her gaze away from the **pirate ship** jouncing and rolling next to the train, Rihanna spotted Bickslow and Cana on the next platform over.

On par the course for the day, they were fighting what looked to be a boarding party of pirates.

It said something that Cana and Bickslow, two children with only magic cards and tiki dolls between them, were doing a pretty good job of fighting off the full grown, burly pirates waving scimitars and the magic versions of flintlock pistols. Though whether it said something about the skill-level of the two kids or the pitiful abilities of the pirates, Rihanna didn't have time to decide.

Laxus lunged forward, using a homing-type Lightning spell to launch himself across to the platform and crash feet first into the back of a bludgeon-wielding pirate. With a sigh and a quick eulogy for yet another portion of her sanity, Rihanna stretched out her shadows and pulled herself across to join the other _Raijinshū_ in fighting off the pirates.

Rihanna landed lightly on the ground amid the scuffling feet of three pirates, her shadows curling around her like angry tails before exploding outward in concentrated shockwaves and sent them flying off of the train with screams of surprised terror. Inwardly praying that the unnatural durability the people of this world seemed to have would ensure she hadn't just committed murder, Rihanna darted off to place her back briefly against Bickslow's.

"Fifteen minutes, you two!" Thundered Laxus as he roundhouse-kicked a pirate away from Cana's right side, "I left you alone for fifteen Mavis-forsaken minutes!"

Bickslow's tikis whirled into a shield formation to deflect an overhead scimitar slash before firing off lasers to drive the pirate back, "Oi! This is not our fault! They were the ones who boarded the train and were stealing stuff! What were we supposed to do? Let them?"

Cana darted between the legs of a particularly tall man, slapping a lightning card above her head as she passed by, "I want to know why the train hasn't stopped! Doesn't the conductor notice that the train is being attacked?"

The man went down with a howl of agony and Rihanna used the falling man as a springboard to axe-kick another pirate in the face, _how many of these guys are there? Do they keep sending more or something?_ Another boom went off and Rihanna rolled clumsily across the platform, wincing as she crashed into the form of an unconscious pirate.

Laxus whirled in the direction of the pirate ship and bellowed, "Oh, will you **quit that**!" A bolt of lightning shot out from his body at the peak of his shout, lancing across to the pirate ship and setting one of its sails on fire. The pirate ship swerved away from the train a little, shouts of alarm rising from the figures on deck as they scrambled to save their sail.

"Hey! Hey, let go of that! That isn't yours! **Hey**!" Cana's shriek yanked everyone's attention away from the ship and back to where Cana was trying to pull a large box away from a man several times her size. Needless to say, it didn't work. With a growl and a firm tug on the box with one hand, the pirate suddenly grappled across the distance between the platform and the ship with the box in under his arm. Just before he got out of range, Cana leaped forward and latched onto the box, shrieking threats the entire way.

 _Cana!_ " **Cana**!" Bickslow and Laxus shouted at the same time while Rihanna reached out a hand futilely in Cana's direction.

One of the few pirates still standing shouted, "That's the last one, lads! Back to the ship! Back to the ship!"

The other pirates began to pull out grapple guns and fire them, pulling themselves back to their ship while Bickslow and Laxus roared and tried to knock them out of air with tiki blasts and lightning strikes. The ship swerved away from the train while the remnants of the boarding party were still in midair, rapidly leaving Laxus's Lightning-jump range despite their tattered sail.

 _They've got Cana! I've got to do something!_ For a moment, panic and determination overrode her increasingly faulty common sense. Desperate to rescue Cana and with no time left to think it over, Rihanna reached out to the shadows and yanked on them demandingly. There was a pause, a flash of the dark cold between the shadows, and then Rihanna was stumbling clumsily into a barrel as she tried to regain her sense of balance after teleporting to a moving target.

Her shoulder smacked painfully against the barrel with enough force to make it rattle a bit and Rihanna hissed faintly before she darted backward into a corner and dropped into Shadow Form. Three seconds of panting and looking at her surprisingly uninhabited surroundings later, Rihanna slapped her face with a palm very hard. _Oh. Pantherlilies. What did I just do?_

.

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* * *

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Bickslow snarled and paced in the grass next to the now halted train. Just after the pirate ship had pulled away and sailed off with Cana as a hostage, the conductor had **finally** managed to stop the train. Now passengers were milling worriedly about while Laxus towered over the pirates he and Bickslow had taken prisoner and demanded to know what the pirates had stolen and how to find the ship.

 _Stupid, idiot Shark! What was she doing clinging to the box like that? Should've just let the pirate steal it, but_ ** _no_** _. She just had to get herself captured along with the stolen box didn't she? Why didn't she just nail the guy with a paralysis or lightning card? Stupid,_ ** _stupid_** _Shark!_

Huffing agitatedly, Bickslow ran his hands through his hair and tried unsuccessfully to calm down. Laxus would get the pirates to talk, and if the Lightning Mage wasn't scary enough to make the scum talk then they'd just sic Wren on-

A new thought occurred to him and Bickslow looked around frantically. After several seconds of scanning the area, calling, and even rescanning the area with Figure Eyes, Bickslow swore richly and ran to Laxus's side. Laxus was in the middle of lightly shocking a pirate to make him cooperate when Bickslow shoved him aside and cannoned into the prisoner, "Where is she?"

He had dropped his sunglasses onto the grass a few feet away, his glowing eyes meeting the prisoner's without any block between them. The pirate's colors froze and fell under Bickslow control as he howled again, " **Where is she**?"

The pirate sputtered, unable to answer the question despite Bickslow's demands because of his wording. Laxus grabbed Bickslow's shoulder, "Whoa! Bickslow, calm down! We'll find Cana-"

"I ain't talking about Cana," snarled Bickslow to Laxus before he turned his focus back on the pirate, "Where is Wren, you piece of trash? **Where is my** ** _Imōto_**?"

Laxus stiffened for a moment before he too realized that Wren was missing from the scene and lightning began to roll dangerously off of his shoulders. Fear colors fought to grow and move under Bickslow's grasp as Laxus leaned forward and growled through his teeth, "We're only going to ask one more time, slimeball. Where. Is. Your. Ship?"

* * *

 **Japanese Translation: Imōto - Little Sister**

 **aho - moron.**


	22. Chapter 21: Stowaways and Deals

**I return! Would've been back sooner, but, as usual, Real Life had to stomp in and take up the majority of my time. Besides that, do you know how long it takes to edit and format these chapters? Not something I can do in half-an-hour. Anyway, check the Author's Note and the bottom of the chapter for explanations on this chapter.**

 **Review Response: Dear Lightsbane1905, hey there! Yes, yes they do. Can you blame them? No problem, I try to answer whatever questions reviewers come up with, barring ones that would require divulging spoilers. I can see what you mean as well. Depending on the story, an OC can have too much knowledge. Wren's not an SI, by the way. Agreed! Stories that deviate and explore new possibilities are fun. Some of them can be a bit dark though. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Dear skyfir, hello there! Why thank you! Also, here is the next chapter!**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hello! Saw your edited post/PM thing, so, glad you think Bickslow losing his temper is awesome! I enjoy writing Protective!Bickslow moments.**

 **Dear Sky65, hi there! Yep. But it also has advantages to weigh out the disadvantages if you look close enough. I mean, there's got to be an enhanced healing factor going on in that guild when you consider how tight the timeline is. Half a year between Lucy joining and Acnologia blowing up the island. Only six months for ALL THE ARCS IN BETWEEN to take place in, yet the cast is almost always healed up and ready to go by the next one. It's weird. No problem! I hope this chapter lives up to expectations!**

 **Dear EmberFlame03, greetings! I'm glad it helped cheer you up! Hopefully this chapter finds you in a good mood as well.**

 **Dear powerrangersfan364, hey there! Glad to hear it! He is adorable this way isn't he? Hard to imagine this Laxus as the same one who started the Fantasia Arc fiasco... (sighs).**

 **Dear 9462641, hi! (Panics) Don't die! Then you won't be able to read the newest chapter! (holds out chapter as revive). It's ... not the worst cliffhanger I've ever written though and it certainly won't be the worst one in this story. Just a heads up there. (cocks head) It is? Well. I'm happy that it made you happy. I always reply to my reviewers as best I can, assuming they aren't a troll or FanFiction hasn't gone Invisible Ninja Review on me again. Ah, loneliness, good choice of words. Well, mentally Wren is much older, and that kinda shows in how she treats them. She doesn't put up with their shenanigans all that much, and she's trained them to fear her bad mood (in a good way, not an abusive one). Thank you, I try to be realistic without being depressing. I never understood stories like that, where the hero just ... KNOWS the exact magic needed right off the bat. It just ... makes no sense. Especially considering that Wren (for example) is self-taught until recently... Anyway. Here's something to help with the last cliffhanger, though there's kinda one at the end of this one too. Kinda. Honestly? No idea. I just ... try to write it out as if I'm transcribing a movie. Play-by-play, emotion-by-emotion, without getting too tedious. I suppose the simplest answer would be practice. Lots and lots of practice and arguing with my Inner Editor. Evergreen and Freed with both still join the Raijinshū, don't worry. As for how soon ... not sure. I'm thinking it will be the next 'arc' after this one, but I'm not sure how many chapters this arc is going to be and if there are any 'one-shot' style chapters that will butt-in before I move on to introducing the last members of the Raijinshū. We'll get there eventually though. I hope your essay went well!**

 **Dear Anonymous, greetings! Huh, unintentional good timing on my part then. Here's the update! Eh, I can promise that none of the main cast (Wren, Laxus, Bickslow, Cana, etc) dies, but other than that...? Yes, Fairy Tail Luck always amplifies the chaos as much as possible before it provides a solution (even if that solution is usually 'punch problem in the face').**

 **Dear RunFromTheMedic, hello! Happy to hear it! They'll be making return appearances I'm sure. Thank you for your patience, here is the next chapter!**

 **Dear aprillynd, hello there! Glad to hear it!**

 **Dear Ori Heartlyng, hi! He is a very devoted big brother, so yeah, no touchy sister. You'll see what happened to Cana in this newest chapter, as well as what Wren is up to. Happy to hear you enjoyed the chapter, and yay! Stick around as long as you want! Here is another chapter for you (makes grand gesture with hat).**

 **Dear BizzyLizy, hi there! Not really, but Fairy Luck comes with Fairy Impulsiveness. Both are incurable. Really...? Wow, I'm ... floored. And happy that this story has managed to garner such praise. Thank you for the compliments! You're welcome, and here is a new chapter for you!**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! What wrong with call him- (thinks, face-palms) oh. OH. Can I just go on record saying that that was NOT intentional? I don't watch that anime, though I've heard of it and watched a clip or two out of curiosity, so ... yeah. At least now I know why my subconscious kept insisting that Sebastian was the perfect name for a butler...**

 **Author's Note: SO! Remember when I did a sorta-crossover/heavy reference with Tora the Demon Cat? This chapter is gonna be like that. Only with a different anime and in spades. But be warned, the characters from the non-Fairy Tail anime are going to be both younger than in their original anime and in very different circumstances. Why? Because this isn't (in my head) an actual crossover of universes, but Wren encountering the dimensional counterparts of characters we know from a different anime. I mean, in this story, we are operating on the assumption that the Fairy Tail world is real, so why wouldn't at least SOME of the other anime/manga be the same? And if they are all parallel/alternate universes, why wouldn't there be a few counterparts running around in them? Because you have to admit, the similarities some of the characters have across anime is eerie (Kageyama and Shikamaru anyone? They even slouch the same). So anyway, that means while the counterparts will be recognizable as counterparts (if you know the anime I'm referencing) they're lifestyles, situations, and ages won't necessarily be the same when we first meet them. Make sense? I hope so. More explanations on other stuff at the bottom. This is the only one I can give without giving out spoilers. Let me know if you know what the other anime is! (you guys probably will, considering EVERYBODY knew the 'my cabbages' quote...). Finally, let me go on record by saying that the muses stole this chapter even more than usual, so I have about as much idea where we're going as you do. What fun, right?**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs, who have taken off with my plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One: Stowaways and Deals**

 **(Three months, two weeks, two days since joining the guild)**

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Thatch blinked, pausing in mid-motion to stare at a shadow. _Strange, could've sworn I saw something move back there…_ He narrowed his eyes and slowly set down the basket of potatoes he'd been about to leave with in favor of inching toward the apple barrels with a hand on his sword, _if it's more rats, so help me-!_

Stepping as quietly as he could, Thatch crept up on the apple barrels before shoving one aside, "Alright you rats-!" He blinked and faltered when he saw nothing. No rats scurrying away, no scratch marks or other signs that a rat had even been there. _But I could've sworn that something was here!_ More motion flickered on the edge of his vision and Thatch whirled just in time to catch a glimpse of what looked like a large black … spot flee into the shadows.

Thatch stared at the shadow into which the black spot had vanished and debated what to do. On the one hand, he couldn't just leave an intruder, whatever kind it was, unchallenged. On the other … well. The Captain and several of the others may not believe in ghosts and such things, but Thatch was a touch more superstitiously minded.

So, his choice was to try to flush out the spot again and determine what it was all by himself, or go get backup and risk it slipping off to another part of the ship. He was a competent swordsman if he said so himself, so in all theory he could handle the problem without need for aid. Plus, if he did retreat for backup, he was sure the others would never let him live it down. Then again … it had been a **black spot**. That moved. All by itself.

The sixteen-year-old held a staring match with the potentially dangerous shadow for several seconds, hand clutching his sword-hilt tightly while pride warred with superstition before he came to a decision, "Marco!"

A minute or two later, Marco stood, unimpressed, amid the barrels and crates that held their food supply, "So? Where's this 'living black spot' of yours, yoi?"

Thatch pointed over Marco's shoulder from his position safely behind the older pirate, "It went into that shadow! I swear Marco!"

Marco exhaled the heavy sigh of the exasperated and sauntered toward the indicated shadow. Thatch fidgeted, "Careful Marco!"

Marco shot him a bland look before he walked right into the shadow itself and calmly tapped a foot. Several seconds passed with nothing at all happening. When the seconds had finally turned into a minute, Marco said, "Thatch…"

Thatch fidgeted and scanned the other shadows, "But it was **there** , Marco! A big black spot that moved under its own power! It must have changed position while I was gone."

Marco heaved another sigh as he wandered out of the shadow, "Well, I think you've been spending too much time reading those horror novels-"

"Native folk tales!" Corrected Thatch agitatedly.

"-Of yours, yoi. You probably just imagined i-" A loud clatter-thump cut him off and both pirates turned to see the broom that always somehow ended up hidden in the corner rather than in the broom closet tip over.

They also saw a large inky spot of color with no owner disappear through the doorway just before the door was slammed shut by something neither could see.

Thatch turned back to Marco, torn between saying "I told you so" and panicking over the fact that he was right and a living Black Spot was now loose on the ship. Marco stared at the door for a long moment before he groaned and pinched his nose with a hand, "That thing locked the door on the way out, didn't it?"

Thatch tentatively approached the door and tested it. The knob jiggled uncooperatively in his hand, "Yep."

"Out of the way." Brushing past Thatch, Marco unlocked the door and pushed it open. They both stared at the seemingly empty corridor beyond it before glancing at each other.

"Tell _Oyaji_?"

"Tell _Oyaji_ , yoi."

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* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Edward Newgate sat in his makeshift office and futilely fought down his temper and the headache that came with it. The raid had gone off well enough, but Jozu had accidentally brought along a passenger on the last box and the Captain had gone into a rage over it. Newgate had barely managed to deflect the Captain's ire away from the stubborn little girl who had bravely, if foolishly, jumped onto the box just as Jozu retreated with it, but now he had to deal with an unwanted prisoner and Jozu was scheduled to be flogged for one little mistake.

Once again, Newgate toyed with the wonderful idea of finding a proper body of water, a long piece of rope, and keelhauling the cruel piece of sea-slime who called himself their Captain. _Captain, bah. He wouldn't know the meaning of the word if it stabbed him with a sword._ A light scuffling sound across from him made him look up from glowering at his desk. The little girl froze in the middle of her attempts to slip off of Newgate's spare chair. She glared at him defiantly from underneath a small curtain of her hair, but Newgate could see the fear flickering in the brown orbs.

He sighed, trying not to remember what it was like before their current "Captain", when such a child would have been welcomed into the crew rather than be locked up and, supposedly, held for ransom. _Though who I am supposed to ransom her back to is the question._ Pulling thoughtfully at his mustache, Newgate rumbled, "I wouldn't try to escape little one, I will not bother you, but the Captain and … other members of the crew would not be so lenient if you left this room."

The girl continued to glare, "Let me go!"

Newgate stood up and moved around his desk to the girl's chair, politely ignoring her flinch at his large form approaching. Patting her gently on the head he reassured, "Once we know who to send you back to, child."

She bristled under his touch and growled, "The guild will kick your butts into the next century for this." _So, not a guild-less mage child. I had thought not, but still._

"Not if they do not wish you to come to harm." He retorted mildly, "And as long as you do not cause trouble, you will be back with your guild very soon. Tell me child, what is your name and which guild are you from?"

The girl studied him intently, as if trying to decide whether or not to answer his questions. Finally, she caved to his patient, un-hostile stare and muttered, "I'm Cana. Cana Alberona of Fairy Tail." Newgate stiffened and mentally swore. So she hadn't been exaggerating when she had declared that her guild would wreak havoc over her capture, no matter how accidental is was.

Newgate had heard many stories of the guild from Magnolia and while they were humorous to hear about, he certainly had no intention of allowing his children to suffer their wrath because of their idiot Captain. _And if that man finds out she is from Fairy Tail…_ Newgate's jaw clenched at the thought. If he found out just what guild Cana belonged to, the Captain would either demand a fortune for the child's safe return, or he would order her through off the ship at once. While the ship was still moving at high speeds.

Taking a deep breath, Newgate patted her head again and gave her a grim smile, "I wouldn't tell anyone else that little fact, Cana-chan. The Captain would not take kindly to knowing that he has a Fairy Tail mage on board the ship." Seeing the look of fear that flashed across her face, Newgate exhaled softly and moved back to his side of the desk. Rummaging in one of the upper drawers, he carefully pulled out a small bag that none but a chosen few knew of and shook out three of its contents and offered them to the girl.

Cana-chan looked at the candies in his hand as though they might get up and bite her, "What are those?"

Newgate raised an eyebrow, "Candy. I usually keep a stash of them in my desk for when my children drop by."

She blinked incredulously at him. Her expression conveying that she found the concept of a pirate having children, let alone giving said children candy, somehow astounding, "You have kids?"

Newgate couldn't resist the tiny smile that flickered over his face, "Oh yes. Several. They are part of the crew in fact." His smile faltered and then fell, "They used to be the majority of the crew, actually."

Cana-chan quietly took a candy from his hand, her aggression fading into curiosity, "Used to be?"

Newgate fought to keep a scowl off of his face, "Yes. Before the 'Captain' took over and brought in his swill." His words were sharper and more candid than he meant for them to be and Newgate flared his nostrils in an attempt to rein in his rising temper again. He really hadn't been getting enough sleep to deal with this sort of thing. What with having to constantly keep his children from getting into fights with the other members of the crew and the Captain from taking his petty frustrations out on the people he knew Newgate cared for.

Cana-chan rolled her small candy in her mouth, body tensed to run if his temper snapped, but her curiosity roused, "You don't like your Captain? Then why do you follow him?"

His magic stirred within him angrily, threatening to rise only to be abruptly blocked and slammed back into his core with an all-too-familiar twinge. Newgate growled and ran his fingers idly over the necklace encircling his throat, "Because we have no **choice** anymore."

Cana-chan was staring at the necklace, a strange look on her face, "Is that-?" Before she could finish her question, there was a loud, shuddering thud from the door, as if someone had just run into it. Newgate looked up as there was a pause, a muffled yelp of pain, and then several demanding raps on the door.

Newgate glanced down at Cana-chan and motioned her wordlessly to come around to his side of the desk. She peered at him suspiciously for a second before fear of whoever was on the other side of the door overrode her fear of him and she scampered around to hide under his desk. Once she was out of sight, Newgate called gruffly, "Who is it?"

"It's Marco and Thatch, _Oyaji_. We need to talk to you, yoi."

Puzzled, Newgate circled around to the door and, keeping an eye on his desk in case Cana-chan made a foolish escape-attempt, unlocked his door. The moment he opened it, his two sons hurried inside, Thatch looking decidedly nervous and Marco looking … unsettled. Shutting the door and locking it again, Newgate asked, "What has happened, my sons?"

Thatch sputtered agitatedly, "There's a black spot on the ship, _Oyaji_! A **black spot**!"

Newgate didn't have time to ponder over Thatch's vague and unhelpful statement before Marco had lightly cuffed Thatch on the back of his head to calm him down and elaborated, "There was a moving … something down in the hold. It looked like some kind of shadow without an owner-"

"Or a living black spot!" Thatch interjected nervously.

"… or a living black spot," Marco grudgingly acknowledged, "and it escaped the food hold before we could stop it and disappeared somewhere in the ship, yoi."

Newgate frowned, "Are you certain it wasn't an illusion of some kind?"

Marco shook his head, "It could interact with physical objects, yoi. It knocked over the broom in the corner and tried to lock us in as it left."

Newgate pulled thoughtfully at his mustache, "A mage who has somehow gotten on board then?"

Marco shrugged helplessly, "If it is, the mage isn't using any magic I've ever seen before."

Thatch was glaring suspiciously at the shadows in the room, "Do you think it could be a demon of some kind, _Oyaji_?"

Newgate shook his head, "Doubtful. From all accounts I have ever heard, demons aren't very subtle. Or non-confrontational. You said it retreated from the room once you entered?"

Marco dipped his head, "Pretty much, yoi."

Newgate pondered over that for almost two minutes, idly stroking his mustache as he tried to figure out how to find and identify the "black spot", as well as its possible intentions, without alerting the Captain to anything being amiss. He didn't want to risk adding another of his sons to the flogging list or worse, depending on what the Captain would decide the black spot was.

"Well, _Oyaji_?" Thatch finally broke the silence, "What do you want us to do?"

Newgate opened his mouth to speak when a tentative voice piped up from behind his desk, " _A-ano_ …" startled despite himself, Newgate whipped his head around to stare at Cana-chan. The girl had emerged from underneath his desk and was now standing there, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt as she eyed them. Newgate noted how her gaze flicked up to his, Marco's, and Thatch's necks and lingered there for several moments before she resumed speaking, "I might know what the 'black spot' is…"

The three men exchanged glances before looking back at Cana-chan. Marco tilted his head, his half-lidded eyes barely hiding the curious gleam in them, "Really now? Care to enlighten us, yoi?"

Cana-chan fidgeted again then took a deep breath, "On two, no, three conditions."

Newgate raised an eyebrow at her audacity. She was one small girl potentially going up against two men and a teen. Had they been anyone else, the chances of her getting seriously injured or traumatized for speaking up and revealing her potential knowledge would have been very high and without her magic, she would have been helpless to the assault.

As it was however, "We are listening, Cana-chan."

Cana-chan took another steadying breath, "First, you have to promise not to hurt Wr- the black spot." _So, the mysterious spot_ ** _is_** _a person, and someone she knows. One of the children from the train perhaps? I certainly hope not._ Newgate tilted his head at Cana-chan acknowledgement, "Second, y-you have to let both of us go." _Definitely a person then, and a friend at that._

Cana-chan faltered for a long moment, biting her bottom lip. Newgate distantly admired her courage in getting so far with her conditions, even if speaking up was still a foolish thing to do in her situation. Marco wandered closer to her and crouched down, his eyes locking with Cana-chan's as he prompted softly, "And the third condition, yoi?"

Cana-chan straightened her shoulders and Newgate was surprised to see the fire come back into her eyes, "You have to tell us how to free you."

All of Newgate's thought processes jolted to a halt. Beside him, Thatch sucked in a sharp breath and Marco jerked back from Cana-chan so fast he overbalanced and fell onto his back with a soft, in-human trill of shock. Newgate exhaled slowly, trying to recover from the astonishment a mere eight-year-old had given them.

Pulling himself together, Newgate shot Thatch a meaningful look. Obediently, his son darted to Newgate's door, unlocked it, peeked out, then shut it and locked it again with the soft murmur of "clear _Oyaji_ ".

Marco sat up and draped one arm over his knees as he stared wide-eyed at Cana-chan. Newgate strode past his seated son, towering over Cana-chan and clearly intimidating her with his solemn stare. Still, the little girl stood her ground and stared back up at him with a knowing fire in her eyes that told him she was not bluffing. Sighing heavily through his nose, Newgate finally said, "I believe it is time for us to have a serious discussion then, Cana-chan." He waved a hand to the chair she had been seated on minutes before, "Sit."

Cana-chan sat down nervously on the indicated chair as Newgate sat down heavily in his own and folded his arms over his chest, "Explain your 'third condition', Cana-chan."

Cana-chan mimicked his position, crossing her tiny arms over her chest as she said quietly, "I'm a Card Mage, so I don't know Letter Magic that well. But," brown eyes flicked up to meet his and darkened with a knowledge no child her age should possess, "I **do** know a locked Jutsu Shiki Item when I see one."

She pointed at the identical necklaces around Newgate's, Marco's, and Thatch's neck, "You said you didn't have a choice but to follow your Captain any more, so I'm going to assume he's the holder of the Jutsu Key, which means you can't take those off without his permission, which he obviously won't give. My guess is that he somehow tricked you and your … kids into putting those on and now you're stuck following him even though you really, really don't want to."

Cana-chan shrugged and pressed her lips together in a dark scowl that shouldn't have been intimidating on someone her age but very nearly was anyway, "What I don't know, is what are your specific rules, and how can I help you get out from under this ratfink captain's thumb?"

Newgate sat back very slowly in his chair, refusing to entertain the rash flicker of hope trying to build in his chest, "What would you stand to gain from doing such a thing, Cana-chan?"

Cana-chan tilted her head gravely, the fire in her eyes growing a bit bigger as she answered with more conviction than he would have expected from an eight-year-old, "Freedom for the both of us."

Newgate exchanged long looks with the two of his sons that were present in the room. To even consider accepting the help of a child her age was foolish. Foolish and dangerous for both sides involved. There was no guarantee that she could help, no guarantee she would have the courage and intelligence to follow-through, and even less guarantee that this all wouldn't end in the captain finally getting fed up with them and executing them all.

Images of the deep whip scars now imbedded into the backs of his children flashed through Newgate's mind. They were followed swiftly by memories of the agonized screams and blood that had flowed freely to the ground in the process of getting those scars, and of the dead bodies of other "hostages" that the captain had killed even after getting his demanded ransom.

The current state of affairs could not be allowed to continue, and this girl, this child, was quite possibly the only chance they would get for years to come.

Well. Fairy Tail was rumored to have crazy luck, and his old friend Roger had always joked that desperate times called for crazy measures.

Newgate looked back down at Cana-chan, "Very well, Cana-chan. Free us, and you and your … black spot will go free as well." Cana-chan flashed him a relieved smile before she grew serious again and Newgate rumbled, "What do you need to know?"

 **.**

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Rihanna peaked cautiously around at the section of deck on which she was hiding and stepped out of the shadows with a sigh of relief. Staying in Shadow Form for so long was draining, not to mention nerve-racking. She had been searching the pirate ship for what felt like hours now, but had still found no sign of Cana. She could only assume she was being held prisoner in one of the officers' quarters, possibly even the Captain's, because Rihanna had checked almost everywhere else.

Huddling against the huge coils of rope all clustered on a section of the stern, Rihanna mulled over her options. She couldn't leave the ship. It was moving too fast to jump, she was too tired to teleport, and she couldn't abandon Cana anyway. Still, she wouldn't be able to stay hidden forever, and there was no way she'd be able to defeat an entire pirate crew on her own.

 _If only I'd stayed with Laxus and Bickslow. Then I'd be able to come up with better plan. One that involved having backup._ For the hundredth time, Rihanna cursed her impulsiveness. Fairy Tail Luck wasn't the only thing wearing off on her it would seem. Huffing through her nose, Rihanna popped her head up a bit to scan her surroundings for any approaching pirates. She didn't want another incident like what had happened down in the hold.

 _I wonder why those two haven't sounded the alarm yet though … maybe they assumed they were both drunk or hungover? They can't still be stuck in that room can they? Or is the quiet some kind of plan for a trap?_ Her thoughts were interrupted by the clattering of many feet and the rolling murmur of several conversations as pirates suddenly began to gather around the central mast. Rihanna tensed, ready to hide in the shadows even as she peaked over the ropes to see what was going on.

There was a lot of grumbling going on as more pirates emerged from belowdecks or climbed down from the other masts to stand next to their fellows. Rihanna was momentarily puzzled over the clear division among the pirates. The majority of them, who lived up to the dirty, tattooed misery stereotype, lounged around on the left side of the deck looking bored. The rest, a motley collection of people ranging from young adults to teens, stood in tense, rigid silence on the right side and glared at those on the left.

Between the two groups was enough space for at least to men to walk shoulder to shoulder without bumping into each other, and it was clear from the growing pressure in the atmosphere that something was about to happen. _This … doesn't look good._ After several long moments, the door leading below decks slammed open again and a few more figures came out.

One was a man Rihanna could only call a giant. He was at least twice as tall as the tallest man on deck, possibly three times, and had a build to match. His greying blond hair fell down to his shoulders and his shirt was unbuttoned halfway to show rippling muscles and a few ugly scars. His jaw was clenched and his neck muscles taut as he looked stone-faced over the assembly. The pirates on the right side of the deck shot the man concerned glances and Rihanna assumed that he was on their side in whatever internal strife was going on in the crew.

Standing at the giant's side were two other figures whom Rihanna recognized as the pirates she had locked in the storeroom on her way out. _What did they call each other? Thatch and … Marco, wasn't it? So they're with the giant, huh?_

The fourth figure to emerge from the doorway jumped up onto the railing of the second level with a flourish, successfully drawing the attention of everyone on deck with his casual acrobatics. Unlike most of the other pirates, this one was dressed very finely. He was wearing an old-fashioned waistcoat of deep emerald that was held closed by glittering silver buttons, his boots were black knee-high laced-up leather affairs from which his pants ballooned out slightly and he had a large, engraved purple earring on his left ear.

All in all, Rihanna didn't need to be an expert on pirates to assume that this was the captain. The man adjusted his hat and flashed a smile that was all teeth and no warmth at his crew, "Well now, everyone! You all know why you're out here this fine afternoon, don't you?"

There were cries of assent from the general assembly, eager ones on the left side, tense muted ones on the right. Unfazed by the looks the pirates on the right shot him, the Captain swept his hands out, his smile still in place, "During the raid today, you lads retrieved the required cargo from the train, well done! An extra mug for all of you when we get back to port!"

A cheer began to rise from the pirates on the left when the Captain continued, his smile morphing into sneer, "Is what I **would** say had you all not been made fools of by a bunch of sniveling **brats**. Oh, don't think I didn't see it all. How you were knocked about and held at bay by **children** , barely able to get away with the last of our prize in time!"

Baring his teeth in a feral manner, the captain stared down his crew, who were now all looking away or even shuffling with something akin to fear in their eyes, "You should all be flogged for the incompetency you showed today. Where it not for the fact that you did, in fact, manage to retrieve our prize, I assure you that you **would** be flogged this very hour."

He tilted his head, his expression turning darkly smug, "As it is, I will let you off with a demonstration. This fool," he pointed a hand accusingly down at the door below him and on cue, yet another pirate stepped through the door, his expression flat and grim, "allowed one of the brats to grab hold of him as he returned to the ship. He allowed a **stowaway** aboard **my ship** rather than simply knocking her off of him and letting her fall like he should have. Now, the brat will be ransomed for compensation for the trouble she gave us, but Jozu's incompetency must be punished."

Looking down at the stone-faced Jozu, the Captain said sweetly, "You know the drill, **Jozu**. As you captain, I order you to go stand with your hands on center mast and your back bared." Jozu twitched and Wren thought she saw something around his neck glow briefly before he strode forward and did as commanded. _That can't be right … why is he just letting the captain flog him? He isn't even chained up, shouldn't he at least … protest or something?_

The Captain jumped down from his perch on the railing, unhooking a long whip from his belt and un-looping it idly as he approached the bare-backed Jozu, "I will not stand for incompetency or insubordination aboard my ship." The whip suddenly snapped out and Rihanna gasped silently at the long line of blood that bloomed across Jozu's back. Jozu grunted, but made no move to dodge or retaliate as the whip lashed against his back again, and again, and again.

Ten lashes came and went and Rihanna felt her blood begin to boil the longer the captain gleefully lashed his subordinate's back and Jozu gave muffled snarls of pain. _This is wrong. This … this is wrong! Pirate or not, he doesn't deserve this! Not for Cana's recklessness! Not for a simple mistake of timing!_

The whip landed on an already opened patch of skin and Jozu's muffled snarl morphed into a genuine cry of pain. Rihanna stood up, her fists clenching as she reached for her shadows with the intent of putting a stop to the spectacle-

When arms wrapped tightly around her from behind and dragged her back, around the corner of the second level and out of sight of the travesty happening on the center deck. Wren bucked in the grip, her heart slamming against her ribs as she twisted around to bite the arms holding her captive. Her teeth found skin and she bit down hard, prompting a strangled yelp from her attacker, "Bloody barnacles-! Stop that! Stop biting!"

Her captor kept her voice to a strangled whisper, which confused a part of Rihanna's mind even while the rest of her struggled to get free. One hand let go of her just long enough to smack the back of her head. Rihanna hissed through her teeth, struggling to see past the stars that had exploded in her vision. Her daze caused her to loosen her grip on her attacker's arm and her captor hastily readjusted to her grip pin Rihanna's mouth shut, her captor hissing something in her ear over and over the entire time.

Rihanna reached desperately for the shadows again when the words being hoarsely whispered in her ear finally registered, "Friendly! For the love of rum, I'm a friendly!" Rihanna paused, more out of confusion than actual belief in the stranger's words. Taking advantage of her brief pause, the stranger murmured tensely in her ear, "You're Cana-chan's friend, right? The black spot Thatch was whining about earlier? Cana-chan cut a deal with _Oyaji_. I'm supposed to take you to her so she can explain stuff while everyone's distracted with- well, you know."

 _Why should I believe you?_ Rihanna twisted her head around as best she could to glare at the person holding her. Apparently, her sideways glare conveyed her thoughts because her captor sighed and muttered, "This better be worth it … look, I'll let you go if you promise not to attack me or strangle me or go off and do something stupid till I've explained stuff to you, 'kay?"

Rihanna debated that for several long seconds before deciding it was worth the risk, and the chance at freedom, and nodded. A moment later, the arms pinning her in place disappeared and Rihanna whirled to fully face the stranger, backing up a few steps for good measure as she glared.

The stranger turned out to be a scruffy thirteen-year-old with short, shaggy chestnut hair and a bland expression on her face as she examined the bite Rihanna had inflicted. The stranger shot Rihanna a grudgingly respectful look as she tore off a piece of her shirt and wrapped the bite mark with it, "Not bad. You've got sharp teeth." Rihanna leveled her darkest glare at the stranger in reply.

A small part of Rihanna preened when the other girl visibly blanched and flinched away from her look, "Okay, okay! My name's Haruta, I'm one of _Oyaji's_ kids. _Oyaji_ is the giant of a man you probably saw. Anyway, some of us want nothing to do with the Captain and the filth he's brought on board, but we can't leave or kick him off the ship 'cause of these." Haruta fished out a strange necklace with a bunch of runes on it that looked vaguely familiar to Rihanna, _aren't those the same runes Freed uses in the anime?_

Hastily stuffing the necklace away again, Haruta rocked back on her heels, "Your friend Cana-chan made a deal with _Oyaji_ that if you two helped free us from the Captain, _Oyaji_ would let you two go scot-free. But Cana-chan needs you to help complete whatever plan she's got going through her head and so _Oyaji_ told us to keep an eye out for you and take you to Cana-chan if we spotted you." Haruta shifted impatiently in place as she finished, "I was going to introduce myself **nicely** , but then you were about to go out there and get yourself killed, so I had to grab you. Anyway, we don't have much time before the Captain and his lot aren't distracted anymore so we need to move now."

Rihanna narrowed her eyes at Haruta, trying to decide whether or not to believe the hurried and abridged story. On the one hand, this could be her chance to find Cana, on the other, it was probably a trap. Rihanna glanced left and right, debating on whether she should just run away, when Haruta interrupted her thoughts, "Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, but if I really wanted you captured or killed, wouldn't I have dragged you **out** of cover and hollered for everyone's attention?"

 _She … has a point on that._ Haruta gave Rihanna a pleading, impatient look and, reluctantly, Rihanna gave in to her more impulsive side. _I just hope I don't regret this._

She gave Haruta a curt nod and the young teen's shoulders sagged briefly with relief before she grabbed Rihanna's wrist and began dragging her away, "Come on, there's a trapdoor over here for emergencies, we can make our way to _Oyaji's_ office from there."

Rihanna followed Haruta down the trap door and through the labyrinth-like ship until they eventually climbed back up a ladder and slunk to an unmarked door. Haruta knocked quietly on the door and hissed, "It's Haruta, one of _Oyaji's_ kids. I've got Wren."

There was a pause and then the door cracked open to let them inside. Dragging Rihanna into the room, Haruta said hurriedly, "I've got to get back to the … back on deck before anyone misses me. Remember to keep quiet in here, the Captain has ears like a bat, I swear." Not waiting for a reply, Haruta hurried back out, closing the door behind her.

Rihanna watched in silence as Cana locked and barred the door with care before turning back to the blond standing in the middle of the room. Rihanna scanned Cana for a moment before she allowed herself to relax a bit, _she isn't hurt. That's a mercy. She even has her bag of cards still. Was that part of the "deal" Haruta mentioned?_

Cana stepped forward to grab Rihanna's hands, "Wren-chan! I was so worried! What were you thinking stowing away on board a pirate ship? You could have gotten hurt!"

Rihanna's mood instantly soured and she leveled a very long, pointed look at Cana, _and what_ ** _exactly_** _did you think_ ** _you_** _were doing?_ Cana blanched at Rihanna's look, she was experienced enough to know the gist of what it meant. Carefully letting go of Rihanna's hands, Cana took a step back and made a gesture of surrender, "I can explain?"

Rihanna kept her dark look, but added a raised eyebrow, _do try._

Cana gulped and motioned toward the two chairs in the room, "Maybe we should sit down for this … it's kinda complicated." Rihanna huffed through her nose as she stalked over to a chair and sat down. _Of course it is, we're Fairy Tail. We don't_ ** _do_** _simple._

* * *

 **Translations: Oyaji - Dad, Pops.**

 **Explanations: Thatch and Marco had no idea what to make of Wren's Shadow Form (black spot) because Shadow Magic is a relatively unknown and underutilized magic. Most people who know them are in the Mage community, which Thatch and Marco are not, and those who do know of it assume its flimsy and kinda useless. Especially compared to the magics were you can set your opponent on fire, blow them up, mind control, etc. Thus, nobody really talks about it, and it doesn't show up in the storybooks as anything more than the magic of the useless minion (no offense to Kageyama).**

 **As for the bad guy Captain: Not much I can say about him or his magic or even his motives without giving out spoilers, but I will go on record saying that I think Jutsu Shiki is a very underutilized magic in the anime. So is Letter Magic in general. I mean, those magics turn the phrase "words have power" into a literal thing and yet we hardly see it used, and most of the time we do it's only in a minor role (minus the Fantasia Arc, where Freed was scary-awesome and Levy rocked). I personally think both of those, especially Jutsu Shiki, could be very versatile and very DANGEROUS if used in the right way, which I will try to elaborate on more in the next chapter. Also, the Captain is not Blackbeard's counterpart, he's an OC I made just for the occasion.**

 **Haruta as a girl: Yes, I know that in canon Haruta is a guy, but the first One Piece story I ever read had Haruta as a female, so since my knowledge of One Piece and the Whitebeard Crew is tiny enough as it is, I'm rolling with that interpretation. Hopefully, that won't bother anyone, I mean, I pulled the same thing with Soundwave in AMOSC (if for different reasons).**

 **Newgate agreeing to Cana's offer: Not much I can say here, other than he really is desperate, weirder (and stupider) things have happened in the actual anime (letting a barely literate kid and a kid with an unconscious habit of STRIPPING BUTT NAKED traipse all over the countryside by themselves comes to mind), and whenever I tried to rewrite the scene, my muses pitched a fit and refused to let me write any further. So there you go.**

 **I think I've covered the important bits, but as always, feel free to ask questions. Just be nice about them 'kay? Soapboxes and flames will not be appreciated.**


	23. Chapter 22: Operation Mutiny

**Hello all! Here is the next chapter in the Pirate Arc! There should be at least one, maybe two chapters to go and then we can move on to (hopefully, if my muses cooperate) the Freed and Evergreen Intro Arc! Also, there's a head's up in the Author's Note, so please remember to read it.**

 **Review Response: Dear Yatocat19, greetings! Correct! They are the counterparts to the Whitebeard Pirates! I hope you enjoy the newest update!**

 **Dear Lightsbane1905, hello there! Wow, talk about coincidences. But hey, at least you were already in the mood for it then, ne?**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hello! Nope, the Captain is not Freed, nor has he taught Freed. They just happen to use the same kind of magic. As for Gray, what you say is definitely true, but I still stand by my point. If you watch the anime closely, you'll notice that over time, Gray strips less and less, and has even managed to mostly master the art of keeping everything but his shirt (not that he doesn't mess up still, but hey). Anyway, that had led me to theorize that the farther back in time you go, the worse Gray's stripping habit was, so when he is a kid fresh from Ul's ... unique training methods, I think he would lose his undies more than a few times. Besides that, a kid wandering around in nothing but boxers is really REALLY not the brightest idea. Seriously. Oh well.**

 **Dear Guest, hi there! Thank you, I was hoping the idea would go over well. Heh, well, One Piece is the most famous Pirate Anime, so I suppose it wasn't going to be that much of a surprise anyway. Hmmm, flames huh? (snickers) You'll just have to read this update and see, ne? I'm glad you like the counterpart idea, 'cause I do plan on bringing in more at a later date (much, much later date). Swimming with Mermaids, huh? I may have to hunt that one down sometime. Sparkle Terror Alex Armstrong is a lot of fun after all.**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! Indeed! Much brownie points! Nope, Freed isn't here yet, just a bad guy using the same kind of magic. Hope you enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear WanderingMage011, hi! Fangirl away! The Whitebeard Crew has to be my favorite crew in all of One Piece (Though the Straw Hats come a close second), so I just couldn't resist adding them into the Pirate Arc. Glad they're appearance has made you happy! About that, I touch on it a little bit in this chapter, but I'll try to explain more in-depth since you asked. It ties into my head-canons about why joining a Guild is so important for a magic-user. Mage guilds are like mini-communities connected to a bigger community, so a magic-user in a Mage Guild has access to more resources, knowledge, news, etc than a magic-user not part of a guild. That's why Lucy was so baffled by Erza's magic when it's actually a really common one (if underutilized unless you're a specialist like Erza). Lucy knows a lot about HER kind of magic, but because she was never connected to a guild before, she has no real way to sort real magic from the stuff of fantasy and drama stories. So, while Marco (and others) CAN use magic, because they were never part of a Mage guild, a lot of the knowledge that is inclusive to that guild-to-guild community is lost on them. It's like reading occasionally about ship building and being an actual ship-builder, the devil is in the details that the books didn't print. Make sense? Yeah, Fem!Haruta is awesome. So is male Haruta, but since I firmly think that every anime pirate crew needs a pirate lass on it ... yeah. Here's a new update for you!**

 **Dear YumiKnowsBest, hello-hello-hello! Thank you, I try. Hmm, that's ... a really good theory. Wish I'd thought of it myself. But no, the Freed and Evergreen Intro Arc is going to be a separate thing. Really nice theory though, so kudos. Hope you enjoy this chapter anyway!**

 **Author's Note: So, this is an incredibly early notice, but as some of you may remember, I am a huge fan of NaNoWriMo. Which, of course, means that in April, I will be taking that month off to participate in Camp NaNo rather than work on this particular story (sorry guys). Now, there should be at least another update before that, hopefully two, so no need to panic or anything. This is just a really early heads-up that I'll be disappearing for the month of April to work on other projects. I'm only saying this now because I don't want to forget to put in up in the next update and then have everyone freak out over where I went (a few of my AMOSC readers did that once, it endearing and amusing at the same time, but I promised not to do that to them again without a warning first). So that was your official warning. Moving on. Rather pleased with this chapter, especially the end. Oh, mild Cliffy warning for the end of this chapter by the way. I ... think that's everything. So, onward!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, One Piece, or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs who have run off with my plot.**

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 **Chapter Twenty-Two: Operation Mutiny**

 **(Three months, two weeks, four days since joining the guild)**

Mest pressed his lips tightly together as the car jolted and bumped across the countryside. Laxus sat next to him, tense and alert as he curtly relayed occasional directions from the prisoner in the back of the vehicle to Mest.

It had been two days since the pirate ship had attacked the train and kidnapped Cana and Wren. They had forced one of the pirate captives to tell them the location of the ship's intended port, but it was a long ways away and would take far too long to walk or run there.

Laxus had redirected them, with the prisoner in tow, to the nearest town on the train line in the hopes of catching Mest on his way back from his own mission. For once in his life, Bickslow had been glad that they had chatted with Mest while deciding on what mission to take. The teleportation mage had mentioned the location of his next job during the conversation and they had hoped that they would be able to catch up to him and have him teleport them straight to the pirate's hidden port.

But of course, things could never be that simple. After meeting up with Mest and explaining their problem, Mest had tried to teleport them there only to fail spectacularly. Upon further interrogation, the pirate they had dragged along had revealed that the port was warded against teleportation magic for fear of thieves. So, instead of getting to teleport directly to the port to free Wren and Cana, they had been forced to rent a magic car and drive there.

Bickslow was fairly certain he'd heard Laxus mutter about _Jiji_ having their heads for underage driving, but at the moment, he couldn't care less. Mest was the oldest, so he was driving while Laxus and he took turns providing magic power to the car. But despite the steady flow of power Laxus was currently providing the vehicle, Bickslow couldn't help but feel that they were going so **slowly**. Anything could have happened to Wren and Cana by now and the longer it took to reach their goal, the more horrible Bickslow's mental scenarios became.

Shifting, he fixed a glare at the very cowed pirate giving them directions, "We still on course?" The pirate obediently leaned his head out the window to check before settling back down and murmuring an affirmative. Bickslow checked his aura for lies with Figure Eyes before reluctantly going back to watching the landscape pass.

Silence save for the rumble of the car's engine reigned for a long time before Mest finally broke it, "Hey, what's that up ahead?" Bickslow stuck his head out the window to see forward his tikis chittering out his worry as he realized what Mest had spotted.

Laxus squinted at it for a moment before he grunted, "Looks like smoke."

Mest hunched a little further over the wheel, "I know. What worries me is, what's burning to make a plume that big?"

Bickslow pulled his head back inside and rounded on the pirate with a flash of Figure Eyes, "How close are we to the port?"

The pirate peeked out the window before replying, "I … not too far. A couple miles out, I think? But I have no idea what the smoke would be fro-" The car suddenly bucked, going end over end uncontrollably while Bickslow's tikis screamed and Laxus yelled in surprise. There was a flicker, a pull of magic power at the height of the car's flip, and Bickslow was suddenly tumbling across the grass.

His back smacked against a large rock, bringing a painful end to his rolling and Bickslow scrambled to his feet, "What was that?"

Laxus groaned as he sat up from where he'd been dropped by Mest as the teleportation mage got everyone out of the car and safely away from the wreck, "No idea, the ground just seemed to-" Laxus was cut off when the air rippled, rolling over and through them like a physical wave, causing the ground to buck and groan beneath their feet and the grass to flatten. Bickslow found himself thrown to the earth by the force of it, the breath knocked out of him while his tikis spun in uncontrolled loop-de-loops from the vortices.

Sitting up slowly, Laxus wheezed, "do that."

Bickslow crawled to his hands and knees, trying to re-inflate his lungs, "What … **was** that?"

Mest sat up from where he'd been knocked onto his back a few yards away, his expression tight and grim, "That wasn't natural. That's a Magigenesis."

Bickslow pushed himself to his feet cautiously, "A what?"

Laxus rolled into a standing position with a groan, "Magigenesis. It's the shockwave or vortices caused by the collision of two extremely powerful mages or their spells. It can sometimes be caused by just one spell if its big enough, but then it's usually just called a shockwave." Laxus looked somewhere between awed and terrified, "Never actually been in the radius of one before. I've only read about them in books."

Mest hurried over, a worried gleam in his eyes, "Yes, well, few mages that strong are stupid enough to pick a fight with each other. The damage to the environment at ground zero can be catastrophic and there are almost **always** casualties from the fallout."

The pirate remained huddled on the ground in terror, only poking his head up long enough to stammer, "I-it's coming from the port…"

Bickslow's head snapped around to stare wildly in the direction of the smoke, "But that would mean-" another Magigenesis rolled over them and despite bracing for it this time, Bickslow still found himself skidding backward from the sheer power. Once it had passed, Bickslow finished, "Wren! Cana!"

Laxus stiffened, lightning arcing off his shoulders for a moment as he caught on to Bickslow's line of thought and hissed, "They'll be at ground zero."

In unison both boys whirled and roared, " **Mest**!"

Mest nodded as he reached out and grabbed their shoulders, "Right. I'll get us as close as I can, but if the wards are still up, we'll have to run the rest of the way. Remember, we're just going to get in, grab the girls, and then we're **leaving**. There is no way we'll be able to surviving getting caught in the crossfire of whoever is causing these Magigenesis."

With those warnings aired, Mest teleported. The world disappeared in a blur of color and sound for an instant before it snapped back into place and the boys found themselves in the middle of a nightmare.

Everywhere they looked, people were fighting and fires steadily devoured the barrels, crates, and shanties lining the complicated maze of docks. Just like the pirate had told them, the hidden "port" was built on a large lake that stretched both outside and into a towering mountain cavern that had been artificially enlarged. The portion of it that was inside the cavern served as a hiding place for their large ship and a base for the crew.

Right now, it looked more like some kind of war-zone than a secret base. Swords were flashing, magic was flaring, and people were screaming in both rage and agony.

Terror gripped Bickslow's throat, but he pushed it down in favor of shouting, "Wren? Cana? Where are you?" No one seemed to hear him in the chaos, and there was no reply from the people he sought.

Laxus grabbed his wrist tightly and shouted over the cacophony, "Don't get separated! In this…" he seemed unable to find words adequate to describe what surrounded them and pushed on, " **this** , we'd never find each other again!"

Bickslow's tikis defensively fired off a few lasers to ward off a wayward shower of debris, "We need to find Wren and Cana!"

Laxus bit his lip, his usually half-lidded eyes were wide with fear and adrenaline. He nodded after another second of staring at the fight all around and started pulling Bickslow toward the huge ship in the center of the turmoil, "Come on!"

Mest followed close on their heels, his hands still resting on their shoulders as they darted through the tumult. Despite their best efforts, they were quickly swept up in the skirmishes, with pirates randomly spotting them and attacking with bellowed war cries.

Bickslow twisted away from a wayward sword-slash and retaliated by knocking the pirate's legs out from under him and sending him toppling into the water. As he whirled to check on Laxus's flank while the other boy sent a pirate flying with a blast of lightning, a part of him wondered wildly, _how did all this happen?_

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Rihanna gasped for air as she whirled away from the blast of magic that had been aimed for her heart. She stumbled as she coughed on the smoke contaminating her surroundings. A part of her wondered how it had gotten so bad, so quickly, when the plan had started out so smoothly.

.

.

Just as Rihanna had demanded, Cana had explained everything to her, starting with the story of why the pirates seemed to be divided. The answer was because they hadn't always been pirates.

Roughly four years ago, the Master of the famous treasure hunting guild One Piece, said to be the strongest treasure hunting guild on the continent, had fallen ill and died. In the aftermath of his death, because he had never declared a successor and no one could agree on any one person to succeed him, the large guild had split apart into hundreds of smaller guilds, some only comprised of a handful of people who were used to working together in a team.

One such group was Edward Newgate and his unofficially adopted "kids", otherwise known as the magic-capable strays he had collected during his travels. Like many of the other former One Piece members, they formed their own small guild and sought to recruit new members.

Newgate's guild was all of a year old when Marcus Banner joined the guild. Less than a month after joining, he gave out identical, inscribed necklaces as gifts to everyone in the guild as a "symbol of thanks and unity".

The sheer audacity of the lie would have been funny if it hadn't worked.

As soon as everyone else had put the necklaces on, the engravings, which were actually Jutsu Shiki runes, activated and forced their bearers to obey a short list of rules:

Rule One - No necklace-bearer is permitted to take off or damage either their own, or another bearer's necklace.

Rule Two - All necklace-bearer's must obey any order given directly by the holder of the Jutsu Key.

Rule Three - No necklace-bearer is permitted to attack, threaten, or harm the holder of the Jutsu Key either directly or indirectly.

Rule Four - No necklace-bearer is permitted to go to the authorities about any matter involving the necklaces, their purpose, the holder of the Jutsu Key, or any orders given by the holder of the Jutsu Key.

Rule Five - No necklace-bearer is permitted to touch, grab, or otherwise come in contact with the Jutsu Key.

Rule Six - No necklace-bearer is permitted to use their magic unless specifically ordered by the holder of the Jutsu Key.

Six rules, each with two multi-layered runes to represent them, was all it took to steal the freedom of Newgate and his adoptive children for the next three years.

According to what Newgate had told Cana, Marcus's only purpose in joining their guild at all was because they were the strongest non-mage guild to be comprised of mages. Which meant that even though they could use magic, were **good** at magic, they had little to no knowledge of magics outside everyday items and their own particular magic types.

In other words, they were perfect targets to trap with his own rarer form of magic and force to help him in his ambitions.

Under Marcus's orders, Newgate and the others had dissolved their budding guild and instead unwillingly formed a pirate crew. With their magic under his command and their obedience ensured, Marcus was able to steal fortunes, build a modified ship that could go on both land and sea, and collect more and more like-minded individuals for his enterprise.

For three years, they had been slaves. Well-armed and deadly slaves, but slaves none-the-less.

Rihanna had been furious on behalf of Newgate and his followers, which was when Cana had turned to explaining her deal with Newgate and her plan to accomplish her end of it. Cana and Rihanna would free Newgate and the others from Captain Marcus's necklaces, in exchange for freedom to return to Fairy Tail unharmed.

Cana's plan to accomplish this freedom? Have Rihanna use her Shadow Magic to steal the Jutsu Key during the party the pirates would be throwing once they returned to their hidden port. After stealing it, Rihanna would take it to Cana, who would seal it away in one of her cards, an act which would theoretically render the necklaces and their rules completely inert as sealing an item into the cards cut off its ability to magically interact with the outside world.

Rihanna had, reluctantly, agreed to the plan. She had figured that if the worst came to the worst and the Jutsu Key was not neutralized by being sealed in a card, Rihanna would just have Cana unseal it again and let her destroy it with her Dōjutsu. Potentially magically enhanced durability or not, she figured that being in the center of a rip in the space-time continuum would be too much for the Jutsu Key to handle.

According to what Newgate had told Cana, most of the other pirates had lackluster magic at best and stolen magic items at worst. Therefor, once they were freed from the necklaces, it wouldn't be very hard for Newgate and his children to subdue the by-then-very-drunk pirates and escape with their freedom. From there, they could then report everything to the proper authorities and get Marcus taken care of for good.

Not a bad plan, as far as Fairy Tail plans went. It probably would have worked too, if Fairy Tail Luck hadn't kicked in with a vengeance just as they reached the hidden port in question.

Because of course, the one time they needed Captain Marcus to be content to let Newgate keep Cana as a "hostage" in his office, he decided to be petty and vindictive and order Cana to be brought out as pre-party entertainment instead.

Newgate had been forced to escort Cana out onto the main deck, where her hands were tied to the mast by a long rope that acted as some kind of leash. Captain Marcus had revealed that while he was going to follow through on Newgate's suggestion to ransom her off, he was going to punish her for causing trouble during the raid and then "trying to stow away on his ship" first.

Rihanna had tried to stay hidden and think out a proper strategy before acting, she really had. But the sight of Cana being made to run and stumble and dodge around the mast at the end of the long rope while Marcus chased her around with his whip and the other pirates who weren't loyal to Newgate threw things in her path or otherwise tried to trip her was just … too much.

The whip had finally landed, hard and deep and loud across Cana's back, she had screamed in agony, and Rihanna had snapped.

Her shadows had lunged out in a shockwave that knocked Marcus and several of his cohorts onto their backs while she wrapped a tendril of shadow around the earring-shaped Jutsu Key on Marcus's ear and **pulled**.

The original plan was to wait until Marcus had drunk himself stupid and fallen asleep, then gently remove the Jutsu Key from his ear while he was too out of it to notice and raise the alarm. Quiet, quick, bloodless.

Rihanna's shadow may have been quick, but her actions had been neither quiet, nor bloodless in any sense of the words. Blood had poured freely from the large tear in Marcus's ear as Rihanna recklessly ripped it out, his howl of pain stilling everyone else on the deck in shock. Fury pulsed in her veins as the tendril dropped the bloodied magical item into her hand, all eyes swinging from the bleeding Captain to her with uncomprehending gazes.

For a moment, her eyes had met that of the man who dared call himself a captain, icy wrath meeting agonized fury in a silent confrontation before he had recovered himself and shrieked, "Kill her!"

Taking a step back from the pirates, she had flicked the earring into the air and toward the approaching mob, waiting until it was a little over halfway in its arching path before yanking on the door in her mind. The pirates who had begun to surge forward stumbled back in surprise and fear as a small black hole ripped into existence in front of them, sucking the warmth from the air even as it devoured the earring that had held Newgate and his children captive.

Everyone, even the bleeding and crying Cana, had stared at the black hole with huge eyes. Using the time bought by the shock to her advantage, Rihanna had crossed her arms over her chest and coiled the shadows around her clenched fists in preparation. Just as she shut the door in her mind, causing the black hole to vanish, she had swept her arms down and out. Two curved blades of shadow had launched from her hands, the sheer speed of them stirring the wind into a shriek as they slammed into the crowd of still dumbfounded enemies and sent several of them flying.

The attack had snapped everyone out of their daze and Newgate had lunged forward with an enraged roar that literally shook the ship, " **Marcus**!"

Their magic finally theirs to command again, Newgate's children had rushed the other pirates, wordless war cries shaking the air as they unleashed their long pent-up fury.

Pure chaos had descended without so much as time to take a bracing breath.

Rihanna had dived for Cana, dodging around the large hole in the deck that had formed from Marcus frantically dodging Newgate's downward punch as she did so. Cana had been shaking in a mix of terror and pain at the mayhem breaking out around them. She had barely noticed Rihanna cutting her bonds with a sharpened edge of shadow until Rihanna had pulled her to her feet and Cana had cried out in agony. Rihanna had winced at the cry but forced Cana to keep moving, she'd had to get Cana to cover, somewhere out of the war zone spilling out all around them.

Except there hadn't appeared to be any way to **get** to that somewhere. Everywhere she had looked, there was fighting, bodies flying, magic flaring, or blood spraying the air in a sickening display of battle frenzy.

In a fit of desperation, Rihanna had teleported Cana into Newgate's office, it had been the only place she could think of as safe, in range, and easily locatable at the time. Barricading the door by pushing Newgate's enormous desk against it with her shadows, Rihanna had turned her attention to tending to the bleeding slash across Cana's back from Marcus's whip.

The screaming and fighting had echoed through the ship, only barely muffled by the wood walls, causing Cana to flinch at the frequent explosions just as much as the hasty medical treatment Rihanna had applied to the lash. All she had really been able to do was use the bandages stored in Newgate's desk drawers, he didn't trust the ship's doctor apparently, to tightly wrap Cana's long wound in hopes of stopping the bleeding and keeping bacteria out.

They had huddled there for … Rihanna wasn't sure how long, just listening to the fight and, in Rihanna's case at least, praying that it would turn out in their favor. A little part of Rihanna had wanted to go out and help, to fight for hers and Cana's freedom as well as burn off the anger still pulsing through her veins over Cana's injury. But the rest of her wasn't so foolish.

This wasn't some brawl with petty bandits or thieves. This was a true battle, life and death decisions in every moment, every breath. No place for an injured child and a civilian woman trapped in a six-year-old body. Not without heavy backup, preferably not at all.

Which, curse Fairy Tail Luck, meant that they were going to get involved in it anyway.

Rihanna wasn't sure how long into their hiding it was before she noticed it, the ache her throat, the tickle in her lungs and the sour tang in the back of her mouth. So faint that at first she hadn't registered it in her worry-hazed mind. But as it grew stronger, she suddenly realized that she could smell smoke. Panic had clawed at her mind all over again as she had realized what that meant.

The ship was on fire.

And she had barricaded the door.

Lunging to her feet, she had struggled to pull the desk away from the door, not wanting to risk depleting her magic reserves with another teleportation unless she had to. After a moment, Cana had stumbled to her feet and helped her by using one of the cards from her purse, which they had recovered from Newgate's desk alongside the bandages, to seal said desk away.

Throwing the door open, Rihanna had led the way out into the corridors, her panic spiking a bit as she had realized just how much the smoke had infiltrated the halls. Still, she had taken Cana's hand in her own and dragged the other girl through the ship, trying to remember the way to the nearest hatch. Or even the nearest port hole, that would have worked too.

They had finally managed to find their way back onto the deck, where it appeared that the fighting had spread out into the port itself, and Rihanna had directed Cana toward lowered gangplank. Miraculously, the thing had not yet caught on fire from the embers raining down from the burning sails, no doubt the origin of the other little fires she could see feeding on the decks and masts.

It was as Cana was stumbling down the gangplank that Rihanna had felt it. A rippling pulse in the air that had sent both girls literally flying for several feet before crashing onto the port walkways. _What was that?_ She had thought dizzily as she pushed herself to her feet and looked in the direction of the pulse. There had been a momentary pause, and then Newgate's hulking form had surged into view with speed that astounded her. He had pulled a fist back, striking the air as he whirled to his left. Marcus had materialized from the curling smoke just as Newgate completed the action, his whip glowing a rich purple from all the runes coating it as he lashed out.

Newgate's fist had smashed against the whip, there had been a momentary pause, like the world itself was taking a deep breath, then the air had pulsed again and Rihanna had barely managed to keep from toppling over. _They're causing that?_

Instinct had Rihanna crawling to her feet, grabbing Cana, and running again with the intention of getting as far away from Newgate's fight as possible.

They hadn't even managed to run twenty feet before a pirate lunged at them from another walkway, guns glowing a telltale green. Rihanna had pushed Cana to cover behind a barrel and dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast of magic as it had whipped by her head.

.

.

The pirate fired again with a war cry and Rihanna gasped for air as she whirled away from the blast of magic that had been aimed for her heart. She stumbled as she coughed on the smoke contaminating her surroundings.

Cana screamed a warning and Rihanna threw herself forward, air rushing from her lungs in a silent scream as she felt the magic blast burn her leg on its way by. Rolling to her feet, she clumsily threw a fist forward, using the motion to throw shadows at the pirate in a short-range shockwave. The pirate went flying with a cry and a splash. Rihanna bit her lip as she pushed back the throbbing pain in her leg in favor of rushing back to Cana.

Cana was wild-eyed but surprisingly tearless, hands clutching some cards as she looked around, "W-we need to get out of here!" _No kidding. Let Newgate and the others deal with this, we'll come out when the fight is over-_

Another shockwave rippled over them, but this time it was accompanied by a bellow of pain that most definitely did **not** come from Marcus. Twisting around, Rihanna stared up at the deck where the two had been fighting. Newgate was on one knee, an expression of enraged pain on his face as he looked down at Marcus.

Even through the smoke steadily clogging the air, Rihanna could see the pulsing purple symbol on Newgate's bare chest. _How did Marcus-?_ She cut that thought off, it didn't matter right now. What mattered was that Marcus had somehow gotten the symbol on him and it was clearly doing Newgate no favors.

She remembered how vastly outnumbered Newgate's adoptive kids had been compared to the rest of the crew, how their original plan of escape had hinged on the other pirates being too drunk to put up much of a fight. Even **if** his kids could handle the riffraff of the crew, if Marcus was strong enough to defeat Newgate, the man who had punched a hole through three levels of the ship in one go… _If we lose Newgate, we're not getting out of here alive._

Rihanna was running before she was even aware of what she was doing, ignoring Cana's frightened call from behind. Marcus was gloating, she could hear his voice even if she couldn't make out the words. Newgate was clearly fighting against whatever the rune on his skin was, struggling to stand and attack again. But even **if** he could break free on his own, Rihanna wasn't willing to bet on it happening before Marcus finished his bragging and killed Newgate once and for all.

Sure enough, Marcus was raising his whip again even as he kept speaking, the runes on it glowing a fever-brightness as he prepared to attack the still frozen Newgate. Rihanna felt her heart lodge in her throat, right behind her scar as she pushed herself to run faster despite her leg injury.

If asked later, Rihanna would be unable to say what made her act the way she did. What allowed her to bypass the throbbing injury in her leg and the smoke clogging her lungs enough to launch into a sprint. What compelled her to do what she did. Perhaps it was the magic of the world, the magic that let all Fairy Tail members pull off crazy stunts despite their wounds. Perhaps it was desperation. Perhaps she had just been too stupid to realize she couldn't or shouldn't.

As it was, Marcus was clearly not expecting her to come barreling up the gangplank and slam into his side. Her fingers, which had at some point in her charge become coated in razor-sharp shadows, buried deep into the flesh below his ribcage even as her momentum sent him lurching to the side.

The noise Marcus made as he stumbled, her fingers digging into his flesh and his blood splashing hotly onto her face, was one she would never forget. It was the cry of an animal, wounded, enraged, and in pain. The butt of his whip handle slammed against her head a moment later, sending stars across her vision as he then threw her away from him. Another scream ripped from his throat at that, his reflexive throw having caused her fingers to partially catch and drag through his body as she was tossed away.

Rihanna struggled to her feet, a noiseless groan catching in her throat as she fought to see past the pulsing in her skull. Dizzily, she looked up, her eyes catching Marcus's again by complete accident. Recognition blazed in his eyes, his lips peeling into a feral expression as, before Rihanna could think to dodge, he lashed out with his whip, "You!"

Pain exploded like a long line of fire down her right shoulder and side and Rihanna screamed without sound. Another line of fire carved itself across her back as Marcus stumbled closer, his left arm pressed against his injury and his voice hitting a fever pitch of hate, "You did all this!"

Rihanna could barely push two thoughts together, barely drag herself across the deck in a feeble attempt to escape the third line of agony burning into her skin. Newgate roared from his pinned position, "Marcus! Leave her out of this! You're quarrel with with me!"

Marcus ignored him and Rihanna was subjected to a fourth line of agony, "You will pay for this you little-!"

"Leave her alone!" Cana's voice interrupted Marcus and through the haze of pain pulsing throughout her body, Rihanna heard the telltale crackle of her favorite lightning cards. Marcus screeched like a wildcat and the whip snapped the air, but this time Rihanna felt no pain accompanying it. Cracking open her tear-filled eyes, Rihanna watched Cana bound across the deck, dodging and whirling around the whip-strikes that actually blew holes in the deck wherever they missed.

Cana flung a handful of cards, forcing Marcus to dodge back lest he get set on fire and electrocuted at the same time. Marcus cocked back for another strike when Cana flung a card high above his head with a cry of, "Unseal!"

Even though Rihanna felt like her body was on fire, a part of her still laughed hysterically at the girlish shriek Marcus made as he dodged the massive falling form of Newgate's desk. Cana darted farther away, Marcus chasing after her with a snarl and a snap of his whip.

Rihanna swallowed back her tears, trying to force her body into moving again. There was no way Cana would last against Marcus. She was injured already, all it would take was one more hit from his whip and she would be too pained to dodge the killing blow that would no doubt follow.

"Wren-chan." The breathless rumble dragged her gaze away from Cana's fight to the still kneeling Newgate, "Come here, child. You must come here." With a sob that she only felt rather than heard, Rihanna managed to half-crawl, half-drag herself over to Newgate's massive form. Her back, side, and leg were all screaming at her, and a part of her vaguely wondered how she still had the will to move even as she forced herself to continue.

Newgate watched her progress with intense, yet sympathetic eyes. Once she reached him, he murmured, "Good girl. That's it. Listen carefully, you must break the rune on my chest, Wren-chan. Then I will be able to help Cana-chan and put a stop to Marcus once and for all."

Rihanna furrowed her brow at Newgate, too tired to form her question any other way. Newgate, seeing the question, continued hurriedly, "The technique you used to injure Marcus earlier, you must do it again. Slash the rune. I believe that once the surface upon which it rests is broken, the rune should lose power."

She stared wide-eyed at him for a moment, he wanted her to- to … Cana yelped at a near miss from the whip and Rihanna tightened her jaw. _No choice … no choice…_ Struggling, she reached for her shadows to cut the rune on his skin. Her shadows wavered, slipping through her fingers as the agony shooting up and down her back caused her to lose focus again and again, _Come on … come on …_

Cana gave a shrill shriek of terror and Rihanna jerked her head around to see Marcus's whip wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides as he dragged her closer. _No!_ She reached out futilely, scrambling for a spell, any spell, even her black hole so she could save Cana-

Then, rising over the crackle of flames and the screams of battle throughout the port, shattering the air with its unmistakable intensity, came a possibly the most wonderful sound Rihanna had ever heard.

Thunder crashed like a death knell as something bright and yellow and snarling cannoned into Marcus, sending him flying across the deck and into one of the masts. Marcus stumbled, barely catching himself from landing on the deck face first. All eyes swung in the direction from which the blow had come and Rihanna felt tears of relief slip from her eyes as she saw what she had desperately hoped to see.

Laxus stood on the deck, Bickslow flanking him on his right, Mest cradling Cana on his left. Laxus's fists were clenched tight, shoulders bristling, lightning snapping and sparking off of his body like demented raindrops. His gaze flickered briefly over everyone else on the deck, his eyes lingering for a second on first Cana then Rihanna before he returned his stare to Marcus.

Rihanna took a moment to be astounded at the fact that his eyes were literally glowing with the power of his magic, a strange yellow aura enveloping his frame as he snarled lowly, " **No one**. **Hurts**. **My**. **_Raijinshū_**."

Next to Laxus, Bickslow's lips turned upward into a tongue smile that somehow conveyed only malice and his uncovered eyes glowed a menacing green. His tikis sniggering hatefully as Laxus cracked his knuckles and growled, "And now, scum, I'm going to teach you **why**."


	24. Chapter 23: Battle and Fury

**Here we go! The climactic fight between the Raijinshū boys and Marcus! Also, please note that this will be the last update before April, so don't expect to hear from me until sometime in May (probably mid-May at the earliest, I'd have to recover from NaNo, then finish and edit the next chapter).**

 **Review Response: Dear Crystal Blue Butterfly, greetings! Woah indeed. Budding top mage of Fairy Tail, remember? Thank you for your compliments, I'm glad you're having as much fun reading this arc as I'm having writing it! Hope you enjoy the climax!**

 **Dear Keelan1210, hello there! There is no face sweeter than that of much-needed backup, ne? As for how badly Marcus's butt get's kicked, read on to find out!**

 **Dear BizzyLizzy, hi! Fairy Tail Luck tends to cause that, yes. Glad to hear it! These mini-crossovers seem pretty popular, I may have to do another one soon... Anyway, thank's for the review and enjoy the update!**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hello! Too true, too true. Anyway, read on to see how the fight turns out!**

 **Dear Azrael d Angelo, hi there! Oh, I'm sorry to hear you were having such a bad day, but I'm very glad that chapter helped cheer you up. I hope this chapter finds you having a wonderful day and if not, that it cheers you up again.**

 **Dear Guest, hiya! I freely admit that your fire comment encouraged me to go a bit crazy. The character you were thinking of is either Marco, who turns into a Phoenix in the One Piece series, or Ace, who ate the Fire-Fire Devil Fruit. Glad you enjoyed the references! I wanted to do more of Whitebeard's and Marcus's fight, but the chapter wanted to stay in Wren's perspective and she's not the type to stand around gawking at the battle when Cana might get caught up in it. Well, you know the saying "When in Rome..." (cracks up laughing) I might have to use that rule sometime! May I? It would be hilarious if someone actually posted a list of rules outside Fairy Tail's door or something and that would totally be Rule 1. I remember that, Natsu might have gone a teeny bit overboard that time... But hey, Fairy Tail. No, no they will not. Marcus is pretty much toast. Thank you, I hope you enjoy this update! The one after this should cover the aftermath of the fight and the return to Fairy Tail.**

 **Dear Squishy4953, greetings! Thank you, I hope this chapter lives up to expectations!**

 **Dear YumiKnowsBest, hello! (hands imaginary tissues) Here, you may want to dry your eyes or you might miss part of the fight. Laxus isn't one for sitting still when he's ticked off. Thank you for your patience and enjoy the update!**

 **Dear TrackHer, hey there! Bet that's not a phrase you ever thought you'd say when you first see him in the anime, eh? Read on, dear reader, to find out what happens next!**

 **Dear powerrangersfan364, hello there! Yes. Yes he is.**

 **Author's Note: So, hopefully this chapter lives up to its hype and that it will tide you all over until I return from NaNo. Can't think of much else to say so ... on to the chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, One Piece, or any references made in this chapter. The only things I own are my OCs who have run off with my plot.**

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 **Chapter Twenty-Three: Battle and Fury**

 **(Three months, two weeks, four days since joining the guild)**

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Newgate stared at the leader of the three boys that had just arrived, something akin to awe whispering through his veins. He hadn't seen an aura like that since the first day he'd met his son Marco. No, not even Marco. The boy's aura reminded him more of the time he had seen the normally placid-tempered Izō almost lose control of his fury.

Marcus pushed himself to his feet at the boy's threat and hissed, "You little-!"

If Newgate had blinked, he would have missed the moment the boy crossed the deck and slammed his fist into Marcus's face, propelling the whip-wielder straight through the mast. The burning tower of wood groaned loudly as it collapsed, but the boy did not seem to notice at all. He had dragged Marcus up by his collar and slammed his knee into the dazed man's already bleeding midriff, causing the man Newgate had hated for years to cough up blood.

Marcus's fingers formed a strange shape as he clumsily lashed out and Newgate shouted to the boy, "Do not let him touch you! His runes paralyze!"

The boy jumped back just in time to avoid the attack, eyes still glowing an eerie yellow as his lips curled upward into a feral expression. His leg whipped out, smacking into the side of Marcus's head and actually sending him skidding. Newgate narrowed his eyes, cursing his inability to move. The boy was doing well, but that was because he had caught Marcus off guard and already injured. Marcus had not spent the past three years doing nothing, the moment he could recover himself, the boy would be the one on the defensive.

Sure enough, Marcus rolled to his feet, eyes refocusing and right hand snapping out just as the boy charged again. The accursed whip cracked through the air, the boy dodged, then hissed as he proved too slow to entirely avoid the attack. The whip lashed out in a flurry of blows, forcing the boy into a retreat, his lightning barely keeping the blows at bay.

Newgate pulled his eyes away from the fight to the other children that had arrived. The blue-haired boy with glowing eyes was crouched nearby, fluttering frantically over Wren-chan and babbling while the taller teenager watched the fight with a conflicted gaze. Newgate raised his voice to be heard over the chaos, "You two." Both looked up at him and Newgate made a point to avoid the blue-haired lad's gaze, he knew about Eye-Magic from his previous travels, "If either of you can break the rune on my chest, I can aid your friend in putting a stop to Marcus."

The taller boy looked anxiously around, "I don't have a knife. Maybe some sharp wood would do the trick…?"

The blue-haired boy hissed, "If you could have helped, you wouldn't be stuck now, stupid old-" Wren-chan hissed faintly and the boy instantly snapped his mouth shut. Newgate eyed Wren-chan for a moment, fury twisting inside him at the amount of blood dribbling from her back and side. A loud crack of thunder nearby made the children all flinch for a moment before the blue-haired boy snapped at Newgate, "And why should we help you with anything? You're just another filthy pirate like everyone else here!"

Newgate rumbled a dark response, "Because I had something to settle with that man, and not just for what he has done to Wren-chan and Cana-chan."

Though he didn't look directly at the boy, Newgate could still see the thoughtful expression that overcame him. After a few seconds and some kind of signal from the silently crying Wren-chan, the blue-haired boy stood up and shouted, "Mest! Cana! Find a way to get the old geezer free. I'll help Laxus buy time!"

With that, the boy sprinted away, several animate tiki dolls following him into the fray. Newgate twitched under the restraining power of the rune on his chest, internally raging that yet another child was running off to fight his battles. If only he hadn't underestimated Marcus, hadn't thought he could take the punch the other man had unexpectedly thrown at him. The blow had been manageable, but it had just been a ploy to get him close enough to somehow write the rune onto Newgate's chest and immobilize him.

The other boy, Mest presumably, looked worried as he put Cana-chan down, "We need to do something about this fire soon, or nobody is getting out of here."

Cana-chan stumbled to her feet, her voice shaky but determined as she began to look around, "Winning first, fire-prevention later." She paused to cough heavily before helping Mest-kun search the area for something sharp enough to break the rune. Newgate scanned the area impatiently, hoping to find something that would help break the rune and set him free again.

He had a fight to finish.

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Laxus had never thought a person could be as angry as he was now. Fury poured through his veins and prickled his skin in a way that somehow dulled the pain of the blows his opponent managed to land. Everything had narrowed down to his fight with the whip-wielding scum in front of him, his magic was souring to heights he had only ever dreamed of achieving, and the little instinct in his head from his lacrima was bellowing primal demands for blood.

As he rolled out of the way of another whip-strike and retaliated with a blast of lightning, memories of Wren and Cana danced in the back of his mind. Cana had been terrified, screaming as she was dragged across the deck by the rune-empowered whip. The visceral terror of her cry had angered him, made him want to hurt the man responsible. But seeing Wren lying there, crying from the pain, blood seeping through her clothes and dripping down her back…

In that instant, for the first time in his life, Laxus had learned what it was like to want to kill.

Laxus deflected the whip to one side, ignoring the line of blood it drew, serving as a distraction for Bickslow's tikis to whirl in and fire. The lasers slammed into the man's back, drawing a cry of pain and another cough of blood. With a wild noise, the man suddenly stomped his foot, runes glowing to life on his boot as it made contact with the ground. Laxus felt his eyes widen as a line of planking rippled in his direction, then disintegrated entirely.

Leaping to the next walkway, Laxus stumbled as the whip was suddenly there, wrapped around his ankle and pulling viciously. A gasp escaped his clenched teeth as he felt the whip dig into his skin with unnatural sharpness, _sharpening rune. Scum thought of everything didn't he?_

Bickslow gave a war cry that was cut off into a startled yelp as Laxus suddenly found himself airborne, dragged around by his ankle and sent flying into Bickslow before the other boy would launch a counter-attack. The two rolled and tumbled across the walkways, barely avoiding falling into the glittering water below.

Laxus twisted to his feet, untangling himself from Bickslow with the speed of the desperate. He had had the advantage at first, but his opponent was experienced. He had recovered and gone on the offensive again, the runes on his whip making its blows sharper, more powerful, and the whip itself incredibly durable and frustratingly lightning resistant.

As Bickslow and he took off in opposite directions across the walkway to avoid the next stomping shockwave, Laxus managed to reach through his fury for any remembered information on Jutsu Shiki users.

There wasn't much. It was a highly formalized and layered form of Writing Magic, able to serve multiple purposes with just a few runes as long as the caster had enough experience and time. It was mostly used for defensive shields or traps, but theoretically the caster could do just about anything with the runes as long as he had enough time to actually write it all down.

Time like pre-inscribing some kind of shockwave seal on his boots, as well as multiple enhancement runes on his chosen weapon apparently. After runes were inscribed, they lasted for as long as their resting place was unbroken and their caster wished the runes to remain. All that was needed to use them afterward was for the caster to channel magic into them, which was why their opponent didn't create craters every time he took a step.

Laxus threw another bolt of lightning and hissed under his breath as he saw Bickslow get nicked by the whip again. As much as the fury boiling inside him didn't want to agree, Laxus knew they were at a disadvantage. They needed to use everything they had to get the upper hand.

Gathering air in his lungs and trying not to gag on the thickening smoke, Laxus roared, "Bickslow!"

"What?" Came the harried reply as Bickslow jumped across a span of water to land next to Laxus.

Laxus motioned to Bickslow's flickering eyes, "Figure Eyes!"

It said something about just how furious Bickslow was that he didn't even hesitate over the command. Instead, he bit out, "I can't get a good lock on him, he's moving and attacking too much for me to make eye contact. The smoke isn't helping either."

They both glanced over at their opponent, who had paused his attacks to double over coughing. Laxus clenched his teeth, mind racing, "If I get you an opening…" his unspoken question filled the pause, _will you use Figure Eyes without hesitation?_

Bickslow's voice was dangerously flat, "He hurt Wren." The underlying answer was clear to Laxus, _there is nothing I_ ** _won't_** _do to him for that._

Laxus nodded a touch breathlessly, his nerves were jittery from all of the electricity coursing through his body and he had a vague feeling that after the fight, he would feel horrible. But that didn't matter right now. Right now, the man who had hurt and terrified part of his _Raijinshū_ was slowly straightening up and getting ready to fight again.

Taking another deep breath of acrid smoke, Laxus took off at a run, "Hey you!" The man's head snapped around toward Laxus's voice. Crouching down, Laxus braced himself and shouted, "Is that all you got? Come on!"

His opponent's face twisted into a fierce snarl, hand pulling back his whip before sending it singing out toward Laxus. Instead of dodging as he had done every time before, Laxus tensed, legs sliding farther apart for better balance as he held out one arm at the last second. The whip curled around it several times before it snapped taught and Laxus held back a cry of pain from escaping his clenched teeth through sheer force of will. Twisting his wrist, he grabbed the whip and threw his weight backward.

His opponent jerked forward, caught off guard by Laxus's sudden change in tactics. Out of the corner of his eye, Laxus spotted Bickslow rushing across the docks toward his target, his tikis spinning above him like a demented halo. Refocusing on his opponent as the man straightened up again, Laxus barked, "Think a stupid rope like this is gonna stop me?"

The man sneered at his taunt and flicked his wrist. A different set of runes on the whip glowed and suddenly Laxus was flying, spewing curses the entire way while the man called back, "You really think I would fall for such an obvious ploy?"

Laxus crashed into Bickslow again, and this time they went rolling into the water. Smoke and screams was abruptly replaced by the gurgling rumble of water in his ears and the sting of liquid against his eyes. Pushing away from Bickslow, Laxus kicked his way to the surface, gasping and spluttering as his head broke the water. Bickslow surfaced a moment later and Laxus hissed, "Out of the water, now!"

The thrice-cursed whip snapped menacingly above their heads as the man cooed, "Childish tricks only work on children, brats. I don't know where Newgate found you, but I'm going to make sure you regret following him here. Well, before you die that is." He paused his rant to cough wetly and the boys took the opportunity to haul themselves out of the water and back onto the docks.

A line of agony suddenly lashed across Laxus's back and he yelled in both pain and fury. Rolling away from the second whip-strike, Laxus frantically scrambled for a new plan. Because there was no way on Earthland he was letting the trash get away with hurting Wren and Cana like that.

 _Where the heck is Mest? If we had him than we could really do some damage._ Laxus shook water out of his eyes as he pushed that thought away, _just got to work with what we've got I guess-_ His footsteps faltered as realization hit him. _Water. We're surrounded by water. I am so stupid._

Lunging out of the way of another attack, Laxus shouted, "Bickslow!"

Bickslow sounded vaguely exasperated as he shouted back, "What?"

Sliding to a brief stop at Bickslow's side, Laxus asked breathlessly, "Your lasers can cut through wood right?"

Bickslow shot him an odd look, "Yeah, but we're running out of dock to dodge on as it is so…"

Laxus shook his head in dismissal of Bickslow's statement, "Not the point. How long would it take your tikis to cut through a section of wood about three feet by three feet?"

Bickslow's eyes nearly crossed as he attempted to estimate and they paused their planning session to run away a little more from the persistent whip-user. Skidding back to each other's sides, Bickslow answered, "Two seconds. Four tops, why?"

Laxus chewed his lip for a moment, "I'm going to get him to hold still for four seconds while you cut the dock out from under his feet."

Bickslow blinked against the smoke curling the air, "Then what?"

Laxus blandly held up a finger and let sparks dance off of it. Bickslow's expression lit up and he gave a comprehending, "Oh…"

The Electric Mage rolled his eyes, "Yeah 'oh'. Now get ready to cut the dock."

As he sprung away again, he barely heard Bickslow call out, "Wait, how are you-?" _Good question._

The man was coughing again, a wet, nasty cough Laxus didn't think was from the smoke alone. He had spotted the bloodstain on the man's side earlier, so Laxus knew he was wounded, but had one of his lungs gotten nicked somehow as well? _Doesn't matter, just use it to your advantage._

Charging, Laxus tried to get close to the man only to be repelled again and again by expert flicks of the whip. Lightning snapped off of Laxus's form in frustration, he could feel his fury slipping out of his control again and he was feeling less and less inclined to reel it in. His tactics was getting him nowhere, and the voice in his head was pushing more and more for the "hit it till it stops moving" approach.

As he danced away from the whip for the hundredth time, another flicker of an idea popped into his head, _maybe…_ skidding to a stop, Laxus braced and caught the whip for a second time, ignoring the numbness sweeping up his right arm as he did so. The man raised an eyebrow at his action, "Still haven't learned I see."

With a snap of his wrist and a flash of runes, Laxus was airborne. He clung to the whip, refusing to be shaken off as it sent him slamming down onto the docks. Just before the man could send him flying into the air again Laxus reached out his other hand as far as he could and wrapped the whip around his left wrist. He was sent flying again, just as viciously as before. Gritting his teeth from the pain, he let go of the whip with his right hand, hauling himself farther up the whip with his left before grabbing with his right again.

He managed to perform that maneuver, crawling up the length of the whip hand-over-hand, three times before the wielder of the weapon figured out what he was doing. The man shrieked as he sent Laxus flying again, "Let go!"

Laxus swallowed back the blood filling his mouth from where he had accidentally bitten his cheek, _almost there._ With a screech of frustration, the man flicked his whip out yet again, Laxus forced into being airborne along with it, "Let go of my whip!"

Perhaps it was because they were running out of dock to fight on, perhaps the smoke and blood loss was preventing the man from thinking straight, perhaps he thought the shock of the cold would make Laxus let go. Whatever the reason, instead of slamming him onto the hard wood like the previous times, the man sent Laxus plunging into the water just in front of where he was standing.

The shock of the cold water forced a few air bubbles out of Laxus's mouth, but he clamped down on them and immediately began kicking his legs, _just a little farther._ Shooting forward through the dark waters, Laxus twisted so that he was facing the surface and tensed.

A moment later the whip jerked, trying to rise from the water. Laxus was dragged violently out of the water-

Only to slam feet first against the underside of the walkway his opponent was standing on. The whip was brought up short, wood groaning under his feet at the unexpected pressure as momentum warred with Laxus's inability to phase through wood. Laxus's left arm wrenched painfully at the motion and he made a strangled sound at the feeling of his left shoulder sliding out of place.

Despite his pain, Laxus felt a flash of triumph as he heard first his opponent cursing in surprise and then the shriek of Bickslow's tikis coming in for the attack. Up until that point, every time the enemy had used his whip, he had moved his entire body with the blow. Either a single step for simple attacks or entire short sprints for the more strenuous activities of flinging Laxus around and smashing holes in things. His coughing fits, the only time he was completely still, were too short to exploit and were guarded by his shockwave boots.

But now his whip was pinned by Laxus, the boy's collision with the underside of the dock having brought his sprint up short, and the shockwaves from his boots could do nothing to the flying tikis. _Now Bickslow!_ Just as Laxus began to slip off of the underside of the wood and fall back into the water, green light seared through the planking just on his right and there was the telltale shriek and splash of his opponent falling in.

With an internal snarl of victory, Laxus kicked forward, lunging through the water to the spluttering figure. Latching tightly onto the man's coat with his right hand, Laxus snarled, "This is for Wren and Cana!" The very air seemed to freeze for a split-second, everything going still as Laxus's magic curled tightly inward.

Then it exploded violently outward and the entire lake lit up with destructive yellow light.

Despite their close proximity, Laxus could barely hear his opponent's screams over the sound of the thunder as it rolled and roared all around. Something inside Laxus, that niggling instinct in his head that he'd had ever since his father had implanted the dragon lacrima inside him, bellowed a cry of vicious triumph and Laxus mirrored with his own howl of victory.

He only stopped when his head inevitably slid under the water, breaking his concentration and forcing him to let go of his enemy in order to properly tread water. Panting slightly from a mix of pain, adrenaline, and elation at finally beating the man who had so grievously hurt Wren and Cana, Laxus swam clumsily toward one of the few sections of walkway that remained intact.

Bickslow waved to him as he jumped across the various holes in the wood planking, "Oi!" Bending over, Bickslow helped Laxus roll onto the walkway, a ferocious grin on his face as he puffed, "That … was amazing! You got him!"

Laxus grinned, then winced as he moved his left arm by accident, "Yeah. Finally."

For a moment they just sat there, trying to wrap their heads around the fact that the fight was over. At some point in their fight, the screaming and flares of magic had died away, and now Laxus thought he could hear people moving through the smoke and trying to put out the fires. A part of him tensed at the thought that the impromptu firefighters were probably allies to the man Laxus had just beaten, but the rest of him was too tired to really care.

Their dazed silence was abruptly broken by the sound of weak splashing and someone attempting to drag themselves out of the water. Both of their gazes snapped toward the sound and Laxus hissed incredulously through his teeth at the sight of their opponent rolling out of the water and onto a nearby piece of walkway, _he's still_ ** _conscious_** _? After all that?_ He caught sight of runes flickering weakly on and off across the singed emerald waistcoat and felt a flash of frustration rip through him, _of course he added defensive runes to his clothing. Of course he did! Why can't he just up and-_

Bickslow sprinted past Laxus, interrupting his thoughts. Leaping lightly across to the other section of wood on which their opponent lay wheezing, the bluenette grunted, "Oi, _kisama_." The man made a low noise as his head jerked toward Bickslow's voice and he made to sit up.

Just as quickly as he had begun to move, the man froze and as Laxus grudgingly climbed to his feet moved for a better look, Laxus could see that the man's eyes were glowing a telltale green. Bickslow's shoulders shook slightly as he hissed something in a low tone to the man.

Laxus's emotions went from smug at Bickslow's capture of their opponent to alarm as the man mechanically raised his hands to his own throat. Forcing his throbbing legs to move, Laxus stumbled forward and shouted, "Bickslow!"

Bickslow's head tilted fractionally in Laxus's direction, not taking his eyes off of his target, "Don't say he doesn't deserve it. You saw what he did to Wren and Cana. He was going to **kill them**. He was going to **kill** ** _Imōto_**."

Laxus faltered, mind flashing back to the terror in Cana's scream as she was dragged helplessly across the deck. To the sheer amount of blood flowing from Wren's back and the tears in her eyes. Wren, the girl who hardly ever cried about anything, the girl who had somehow become so, so precious to him. To both of them.

His rage came flooding back to him and for a long moment Laxus felt like saying nothing. Like letting Bickslow give the order to squeeze. Maybe not long enough to kill, but enough to make the man suffer for what he had done. Because somehow Laxus's previous blast of lightning didn't seem like enough of a punishment anymore.

Then Laxus took a deep breath and answered with a grim voice, "Yeah, he does deserve it. He probably deserves **worse** , all things considered. But that doesn't mean you can make him strangle himself. Members of Fairy Tail do not unnecessarily harm or take life. You know that."

Bickslow's lips twitched, his posture shifting to something uncertain and vaguely rebellious. He opened his mouth to say something and Laxus added quietly, "Don't you dare. Don't you dare prove that tattoo on your face right." Bickslow's mouth snapped shut with a click and his head twisted around farther, staring at Laxus out of the corner of his glowing eyes.

Laxus struggled with the rage in his soul, with the vindictive little part of him that said no one would care if he let Bickslow do whatever he wanted with the scum. Bickslow probably didn't even intend to kill the man, just make him suffer for what he had done. That seething part of Laxus hissed that making the man suffer was fine, was better than fine, that it was justice.

That part of him sounded strangely like his father now that he thought about it, and that thought was enough to make him push the impulse away and keep talking Bickslow down. Grunting, Laxus jumped the short distance between himself and Bickslow, stumbling to a stop at his friend's side.

Taking a deep breath, Laxus kept his eyes on the side of Bickslow's face as he murmured, "You are not a monster Bickslow. You are not what the people who branded that tattoo on your face claimed you were. But if you do this … you'll prove them right. You'll be **exactly** what they feared." Laxus motioned a shaky hand at the frozen whip-wielder at their feet, "You'll be just like him."

Bickslow's jaw was clenched so tightly, Laxus could see the veins standing out in his neck as he struggled with Laxus's words. In a way, Laxus could understand. Cana was one of Bickslow's few friends, no matter how much they bickered, and Wren was his little sister, the most precious thing in the world to him. For Laxus, seeing them hurt was enough to infuriate him and vow to beat the perpetrator to a pulp. For Bickslow, it had to be so much worse.

But their opponent was already beaten. He was down, clearly too weak to fight anymore. Doing something to him now would be…

"Would you stop me?" Bickslow's voice cut through his musings. Laxus blinked at Bickslow and the other boy elaborated tightly, "If I do it anyway, would you stop me?"

Laxus stared at Bickslow for a long time, trying to figure out what the honest answer to that was. Finally, Laxus replied, "Yes."

" **Why**?" The word was pushed through gritted teeth with enough venom to make Laxus nearly flinch.

Laxus took a deep breath, "Because I don't want to lose a friend." Bickslow faltered again and Laxus pushed on, "Do you … do you remember when Wren got between us and … and my father? Do you remember how she looked?"

Bickslow's breath hitched and Laxus took it as a yes, "I can't read auras but … but I think we now know what she was feeling back then. Which means if you do this, you'll be doing the same thing to your colors that you were so afraid of happening to Wren's." Bickslow made a strangled noise, eyes widening, and Laxus fell silent. Waiting.

Several seconds crept by with aching slowness. Laxus could feel his heart beating in his throat and his injuries throbbing alongside them as he waited for Bickslow's choice.

Then Bickslow barked out a hoarse, "Go to sleep," to the man on the ground and Laxus felt something in his chest ease. Bickslow sagged a moment later, his chest rising and falling in harsh pants while his tikis drooped in the air with identical keens.

Laxus gripped Bickslow's arm with his good hand, offering silent approval and support for Bickslow's choice. They stayed that way for a long time, just watching the twitching, slumbering form of their enemy and recovering from the ordeals they had been put through in a single day.

Eventually, there was a soft displacement of air and a familiar flare of magic that had them turning to look. Mest yelped as he nearly ended up in the water before teleporting again to safety on the docking across from them. As he straightened up and looked around, Mest commented, "Well … this place is definitely ruined."

Laxus opened his mouth to demand why Mest hadn't showed up sooner to help, but something entirely different spilled out as he studied the teen's appearance, "Are you alright?"

Mest blinked at Laxus, then down at himself, "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'll be fine. Some pirates came back to the ship just after you'd left and since neither the girls or Newgate-san were in any condition to fight them, I was kinda busy."

Mest's version of "busy" somehow managed to entail a shirt reduced to literal tatters, one pant leg missing up to the knee, a pink burn mark spreading up his arm and side from elbow to ribs, a host of bruises and scratches, and a deep cut on the left side of his face from his temple to a short distance below his left cheekbone.

Bickslow sounded vaguely impressed as he asked, "What does the other guy look like?"

Mest gave a weak chuckle then winced as the action pulled on his oozing facial cut, " **Guys**. Plural. There were ten of them, and I'd like to think they look worse off than me. They're unconscious at least. I managed to deal with nine of them when one of Newgate-san's friends showed up and took out the tenth for me."

Laxus frowned, "Who?"

Mest clarified even as he limped over and nudged the unconscious whip-user with his boot, "The giant of a man that was on the ship. Trapped by a Jutsu Shiki rune, remember? We finally managed to break the rune on his skin and he wanted me to teleport him here to finish the fight, but then the lake lit up like a lightbulb and I figured that trying a blind teleport in the middle of that would be … dumb. So I told him that you had already finished the fight. Looks like I was right too."

Laxus shot a halfhearted glare at Mest but refrained from commenting on that further. Instead, he asked tiredly, "So … what do we do with this scum now?"

Bickslow piped up, "What about the girls? How are Wren and Cana?"

Mest stepped closer, grabbing the limp wrist of the defeated pirate with one hand and Laxus's good shoulder with the other, "Take him back to the ship I suppose, fire should be out now. As for the girls … they could be better." Bickslow went rigid and Mest added hastily, "They're fine, both of them are alive and conscious. But their injuries aren't anything to take lightly. Newgate-san said something about Marco-san being able to help them…"

Bickslow gave a low noise that conveyed how much stock he put in that statement before he obeyed Mest's signal and placed a hand gingerly on Laxus's back. Mest teleported, causing Laxus's perception of the world around him to ripple and twist for a moment before everything righted and they were standing on the deck of the battered pirate ship. Mest promptly let go of his passengers and called out, "Newgate-san!"

The massive giant looked away from where he had been conversing with a scruffy young teen Laxus thought might be a girl, "Mest-kun, you are back." His gaze fell on the unconscious body next to Mest and his eyes widened for a moment before they narrowed, "So. They really did it. Marcus has been defeated." The man gave a slight scoff, "And I didn't even have the pleasure of defeating him myself. Even so," his weighty gaze fell on Laxus and Bickslow, "thank you. I know you did not do it for me or mine, but you and yours have still freed us from our chains."

Laxus gave a tired nod of acknowledgement to Newgate-san's words, then, ignoring the painful twinges of his injuries, asked, "Where are Cana and Wren?"

Newgate-san motioned over his shoulder toward one of the doors leading into the ship, "Inside the former captain's quarters. Marco is seeing to them as best as he can."

Laxus, Bickslow, and Mest took off toward the door without waiting for an invitation. As they passed Newgate-san's looming form, the man rumbled, "You should probably have him fix that shoulder of yours, boy. Before you make it worse." Mest paused long enough to give a quick bow and word of thanks, but Laxus and Bickslow just hurried on.

Shoving open the indicated door, Bickslow bolted past Laxus and into the room, his cry of, " _Imōto_!" heart-wrenching in its intensity. Laxus followed behind seconds later, idly aware of Mest closing the door behind them as the blond took in the sight of the two girls. Cana was hunched on one end of the bed, eyes shining with unshed tears of relief as she watched them enter. Her shirt was in bad condition, with lots of rips in it that showed glimpses of the bandages on her back. However, aside from that and the bandages on her arms where the whip had been wrapped around them, she seemed alright.

Laxus nodded to her before he moved his gaze to Wren. The littlest of their number was stretched out on her stomach across the bedsheets, her head next to Cana's hip, eyes wide with relief at the sight of them and her back exposed to the air. Bickslow was snarling at a droopy-eyed man who had been gently running glowing hands over Wren's back a moment earlier but had now backed off upon Bickslow's demand.

Laxus came closer as the man protested softly, "I'm using my magic on her wounds to keep them from getting infected, yoi. I'm not going to harm or molest your little sister. I'm just trying to help, yoi."

Bickslow's eyes flashed a dangerous green before Laxus laid a tired hand on Bickslow's arm and murmured, "Let him work. Just … watch him and make sure he means what he says. Those gashes look … Wren's back needs all the help it can get."

Bickslow paused, glancing from Laxus to the man to Wren before he winced and reluctantly let the man return to his work. Laxus stared at Wren's back, a sick, angry feeling rising in his chest at what he saw. The marks were deep, so deep that even after all this time they were still bleeding, albeit very sluggishly. The man ran a hand over one of the gashes again and Wren breathed sharply through her nose in a muted version on an ouch.

Laxus sat down next to Wren, trying to figure out what to say, but somehow failing to come up with any words. His head hurt, his body throbbed, his shoulder was screaming at him, his magic reserves were low, and all he really wanted to do was sleep for a week. But the urge to check on the others, the … need to watch over them, somehow managed to overpower his own physical wants.

After a time of tense, tired silence, with Wren occasionally reaching out to gently touch Laxus's and Bickslow's cheeks and look concerned, the man treating her back spoke up, "My name is Marco, yoi. I saw what you did to Marcus on my way to the ship, that's some powerful magic you two have." He paused to exchange his magic for a bulky first aid kit, then continued, "Thank you, yoi."

Bickslow gave a tired snort, the aggression having slowly seeped out of him, "Didn't do it for you."

Marco shrugged, "I know. But we still owe you kids big time, yoi. When Cana-chan offered a deal to get us all out of this mess, even I didn't think it could go this far south. But you kids did good, yoi."

Laxus lifted his head from where it had been drooping to his chest at that, "Deal? … What deal?"

Cana flushed a bit and looked about to say something when Marco shrugged and continued, "That's … a bit of a long story, yoi." With that warning, Marco launched into a tale of treasure hunters and family, betrayal and slavery, stowaways, living black spots, and a desperate bargain to free both parties.

Laxus listened to it all as Marco finished bandaging Wren's back and then moved on to setting Laxus's shoulder back in its socket and treating the other wounds the boys had gotten in their fights. The three fought off sleep with their desire to know what had gotten them into their current situation and it was only after Marco had finally finished his story that Mest piped up tiredly from his spot against the wall, "Remind me to never go on a job with you guys ever again. Like … ever."

Laxus shot Mest a dry look before caving to Marco's suggestion to spend the night in the cabin, the blond man assuring them that he and his adoptive siblings would oversee the capture of the rest of the pirates and keeping watch at the cabin door for them.

Laxus normally wouldn't have agreed, but he was exhausted and Mest was in no condition to teleport them all the way back to the nearest town.

After they had all taken some pain medication for their injuries, Laxus crawled onto the wide bed that was very extravagant for a ship and dropped off to sleep almost as soon as he allowed his head to hit the mattress.

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Marco and Thatch peaked in on them several hours later, after all the fires had been confirmed dead and the scum who had followed Marcus all disarmed, tied up, and tossed into the brig. Immediately after looking inside the room, Marco slapped a hand over Thatch's mouth to keep the teen from waking up the kids with his loud "awww…".

Outwardly, Marco shot Thatch a bland look. But inwardly, he had to admit that the scene was endearing.

The three boys sprawled across the bed in various positions. Mest-kun at the foot with his back to against the cabin wall, Bickslow-kun draped across the head of the bed with his head toward the door, and Laxus-kun solidly out to the world in the middle, his head by Bickslow-kun's and his feet shoved against Mest's calf.

But the most endearing part of it all was the lump of pillows and blankets set protectively in the middle of their sprawl, telltale long brown hair and puffy blond curls giving away the identities of what the three boys were guarding even in their sleep.

Marco quietly closed the door and shooed a cooing Thatch away, a fatigued smile tugging on his lips as the thought of just how fierce those small, harmless-looking kids were while awake. He shared a glance with _Oyaji_ across the deck as he herded Thatch toward their temporary living quarters in the hold and the giant smirked.

Marco was sure that they were thinking the same thing; Fairy Tail was a one-of-a-kind guild to have children like that, and now they owed that guild a debt that would take a long, long time to repay. If ever.

But then, if the Master of Fairy Tail was anything like the children he had raised, that didn't sound like such a bad thing.

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 **Japanese Translations: Kisama - a very, very, very rude way to say "you". Note: A lot of the subtitles I've seen translate this word as a curse to get the insulting emphasis across though I don't THINK it's a swear word.**

 **Oyaji - Pops (according to One Piece subtitles)**


	25. Chapter 24: Whitebeards and Fairies

**Hello all! I return with a chapter at last! Admittedly, this is sooner than I thought it would be, but I'm sure none of you will be complaining about that. This is the final chapter of the Pirate Arc, and I hope the conclusion is satisfactory, because this was the only way the chapter wanted to be written. I was outvoted on any other potential endings by my muses.**

 **Review Response: Dear TrackHer, greetings! Who's going to send him a bill? The captured pirates? Whitebeard certainly won't, he's just glad that he and his children are free. It's no problem, I enjoy answering reviews so long as they aren't flames. Poor Mest, his association with the Raijinshū won't end there either, I'm sure. Your question about Wren's scars will be answered in this chapter, as will the question of the Whitebeard's debt to Fairy Tail. Freed and Evergreen will be making an appearance very soon, actually! I hope you like it when it gets here! As for Romeo ... I'd have to check my notes. Half-a-tick... Romeo was six in X784, when the series started, so that means he would be born sometime in X778. Considering the current year in this story is X774, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while before Romeo shows up.**

 **Dear Guest, hi there! Ah, yes. I can see how that would make an impression. The rule would be really fun to include. Not sure when or how, but it would be fun. (bows) Thank you, I try. I hoped the conflict would seem real. I mean, Bickslow was raised on the streets for years with nothing but cruel adults for examples, I figured he was bound to come close to some lines if Wren was seriously injured. But you're right, that's one line they can't cross, it wouldn't have been right or in character for a Fairy Tail member. Oh definitely, his teleportation is way too useful for Laxus to just let him walk away. Plus, once you get stuck in a particular orbit of Fairy Tail Luck, you're pretty much stuck forever. They would, but I've noticed Fairy Tail only goes on the warpath if their own have been hurt and the bad guys are still on the loose. Once the bad guys have been beaten down by someone of Fairy Tail, the rest settle down. Therefor, I think Laxus would have already gotten enough retribution to satisfy the others. Unless Marcus breaks out of prison and shows his face around Fairy Tail again, then all bets are off. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, I hope this one is just as interesting for you!**

 **Dear YumiKnowsBest, hello there! Glad you liked it. You'll have to read this chapter to find out about Wren's possible scars. Porlyusica is a miracle worker in some areas, but depending on the injury and how long it takes to get the patient to her ... you'll just have to read and see.**

 **Dear TheHolyBlade, hello! Happy to hear it! I can see what you mean, unless there's some kind of outside factor involved (like gaining Cybertronian memory retention abilities) it would make sense for things to fade over time. But that doesn't mean Wren has forgotten everything or will forget everything, just that her memories on the anime will get fuzzy on some of the details. I like writing fluff. It's a pity I usually have to set up so much angst/violence beforehand to get it...**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hi there! (grins) happy to hear you liked it so** **much! I enjoyed writing the fight scene, even if Marcus was a pain to defeat (I made him a wee bit too tough I think, but eh). Water and electricity. So many people forget the basic laws of physics/chemistry when writing about anime/magic worlds, but I like to use it once in a while. I had a lot of fun with the fluffy ending to the chapter, I figured a little fluff was needed after so much action and character-building drama. Hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Dear powerrangersfan364, greetings! I was hoping it would.**

 **Dear Ori Heartlyng, hi! Yeah, don't frag off Laxus and Bickslow. They may only be kids, but they're still Fairies. (holds up hands) Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute there! As much as I'm glad to see you so interested in the characters and story, don't you think it's a wee bit (or a lot) too early to be pairing anyone with anyone? I mean, physically Wren is only six and Laxus is thirteen. Both are too young for a relationship. Plus Laxus sees her as a little kid right now, and Wren things the same of Laxus because she's mentally so much older that Laxus. Let's wait until they're more grown up physically (and mentally too in Laxus's case) before we start picking pairings, ne? Plus, I still haven't introduced the full cast yet. You might come like someone else with Wren in that time.**

 **Dear YourFriendBob, hello! (blushes) Really? Wow, I'm ... I'm really flattered. Thank you! I don't really mind reviewers calling her either one. Eventually though, it think Rihanna will transition to thinking of herself as Wren. For now, she keeps thinking of herself as Rihanna because it's kinda her last hold on her old life. She's attached to it. Glad you like Bickslow's backstory so much. I agree that Mashima should give some of his other characters more screen time and attention, but at least it gives me more room to work. Don't worry, I will not willingly abandon this story. Chapter will inevitably get delayed when Real Life demands attention, but I have every intention of finishing this story. Like I said to the reviewer just above, let's slow down and wait until everyone's older and the rest of the cast has been introduced before we starting throwing around shipping names, ne? It's way too early to be doing it right now.**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! It could solve some problems yes, but Rihanna would actually have a lot of trouble learning Telepathy for reasons that will be elaborated on later. For now though, Rihanna has no one to teach her, so it's a moot point.**

 **Dear shamwhoohoo52, hey there! I updated as soon as I could. I hope you like the update! No. I never intend for Rihanna's original voice to be fixed. Consider it the price she's paid in coming to this world instead of dying (not that she made a choice go to Earthland). Telepathy might become an option later, when Warren joins and can teach her.**

 **Dear BizzyLizy, hi! Glad you liked it so much! Thank you for you patience and here is the next chapter!**

 **Dear WanderingMage011, hello there! I do spend a lot of time in Wren's POV don't I? Can't help it though, she's the main character and the one I'm the most comfortable with. Glad you enjoyed Laxus's POV though, I was worried about getting it right. I love the dragon lacrima/magic/instincts thing. I have so many head-cannons about it I would like to use someday. I know that scars in real life can be pretty devastating, but considering this is a universe where a guy can have most of his internal organs, an arm, and a leg ripped off by a dragon when he's miles away from any hospital and still survive it ... I think any scars Wren gets from this would be very small and faint. Not deep enough to inhibit her like scars in the real world would. You have a point on the emotional impact scars though, funny how that works. You mean like as something you want to see? Or something you want to write? Because, no offense, I wouldn't be comfortable giving permission for you to use my characters in a story. But if it's something you want to see ME write, then no worries. I really like the Whitebeards, so they'll definitely be showing up again at some point farther down the line.**

 **Dear ChubbyPanda10, greetings! Well, I was going for a scary factor for her eyes, so I'll take that comparison as a sign I succeeded. Wasn't intentionally copying either of those though. Uh ... do you mean how long do I expect this story to go on? If that's the case, then settle in for a long haul. I intend to go all the way past the Alvarez Empire Arc and considering that by the time I get to that point this story will be decidedly AU and I'm starting from several years pre-series ... yeah. This story is going to be really long. Just look at my Transformers one for comparison. All those chapters and I STILL haven't even left Cybertron.**

 **Dear Guest, hello! Yep, Whitebeard pirates ahoy! I'm with you on the crossover episodes. One of my favorite Fairy Tail episodes/OVAs is the one where they crossed over Rave with Fairy Tail. I couldn't resist doing one (or more) of my own. While there are limits to word magic (creativity, concentration, time for setup, size of the mages magic reserves...) it IS a very underutilized magic. On-call chef (snorts) a little bit callous in the wording, but depressingly true. Oh well, hopefully I'll have a chance to fix that in my story. I'm so gad to hear that! I've worked very hard on Wren's character and I practice my writing a lot. It's fine to write a long review, I enjoy reading them! ... eww imagery indeed. Though I'm not sure why it sounds so much worse than "talking your ear off", because if you really think about it, both of those phrases are kinda gross... (shrugs). I hope you enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear RedApple435, hi there! Aw, thank you! So happy you enjoy this story!**

 **Author's Note: So, an explanation of sorts for something at the bottom if you're confused. If your confused on anything else, feel free to drop a review about it (but be polite please, courtesy costs nothing and makes me so much more cooperative). As stated above, this is the last of the Pirate Arc chapters. But don't worry, this won't be the last time we see the Whitebeard (not)Pirates! I've grown to like them too much to leave out, so they'll be dropping in once in a while as the story progresses. Also, for my AMOSC readers and my BOTFF readers, don't worry, I haven't forgotten you. I have a chapter waiting to be edited on Transformers and I'm ALMOST finished with the next installment of BOTFF. I've just been busy lately, so I ask for your continued patience. Anyway, enjoy the newest update everyone and see you next time!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, One Piece, or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs, who have run off with my plot.**

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 **Chapter Twenty-Four: Whitebeards and Fairies.**

 **(Three months, three weeks, two days since joining guild.)**

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Makarov was worried.

That was actually a rarer occurrence than one might think. Yes, his guild caused a lot of trouble and got into a lot of trouble, but he had learned years ago that for all the craziness Fairy Tail Luck brought them, its flip side meant that they could almost always handle that craziness with only moderate injuries. And lots of property damage that he had to pay to repair, but that was beside the point.

Most of the time, when Makarov was "worried" it could be translated to the automatic concern that every parent felt for their child, no matter how safe the current activity or location might be. This time however, Makarov's worry could only be equated to "pacing around the guild building and generally scaring the shirts off of the other guild members with his heavy aura".

Laxus and his budding little _Raijinshū_ had been gone for ten days. The mission they had taken should have only had them away for five. At most. It was a day's train trip to the location of the job and another day's trip back. Three days was plenty of time to locate the item the client desired, turn it in, and collect their pay before boarding a train the next day and coming home.

Five days. Instead it had been **ten**. Ten days with no sign of them, no word or letter to explain that they would be late and why, not even any articles in the paper about a pack of children blowing up a town or a historic monument or some such chaos.

Usually, even when Fairy Tail Luck struck and a member could not write back to the guild to say they would be late, all he had to do was check the newspapers for stories of mass destruction, giant monsters, wholesale arrests of underworld criminal organizations, or the occasional cult being exposed and beaten up en masse in order to get a rough idea of where they were and how they were doing.

But for the past nine days, ten if he counted the day Laxus and his _Raijinshū_ left, there had been no articles hinting at the whereabouts of his grandson and his friends. No random thunderstorms, no possessed tiki dolls scaring innocent pedestrians, no shadowy poltergeists chasing cats, not even single cabbage cart set on fire via tarot card.

Makarov was close to pulling what little of his hair remained right out of his head.

He was just debating whether or not to call the other guild masters he knew to see if they had heard anything, or maybe even send out some of the other Fairy Tail members to search for the missing children, when little Levy cannoned into him with a shriek of, "Master Makarov! Master Makarov!"

Makarov caught the bluenette before she could bounce off of him and topple to the floor, "Easy there, child, what ever is the matter?"

Levy waved her hands wildly and panted, "S-ship! There's a really, really big ship!"

Makarov blinked, "Eh? You mean someone sailed across the lake and docked in Magnolia? That isn't so unusual-"

Levy shook her head so fast her hair slapped her face, "No-no-no! There's a really, **really** big ship coming!"

Makarov frowned in confusion, still not understanding why that would cause his newest charge such distress, "I don't understand, child."

Levy took a deep breath and then shrieked at the top of her lungs, "There's a giant ship coming down the street toward the guild!" _Oh. That_ ** _is_** _unusual._ Levy wrung her hands together as she added nervously, "A-and, Master, there's a Jolly Roger on the sail! There's a pirate ship coming **right to the guild**!"

Makarov yelped, " **What**?" His eyes went wide and he gaped at Levy for a moment before he recovered himself and ran for the guild entrance. Shoving his way to the front of the large crowd that had gathered in the double doors, Makarov looked out and saw that, sure enough, there was a huge ship steadily rolling down the street toward them, barely fitting between the buildings of the city. He had no clue how it had managed to maneuver around the twists and turns of Magnolia, but there it was, limping up the final stretch toward the guild hall with only two functioning masts and a battered sail with a huge Jolly Roger painted boldly on the center of it.

"By the First," Makarov breathed in shock. _What in the name of Mavis did we do to trigger this much Fairy Tail Luck?_ Shaking off his surprise, Makarov barked at the other guild members, "Get the children inside and barricade the door. Enno, Richardo, Katsuki, guard the children. Everyone else, outside and prepare your magic. But don't attack unless I give the word."

There was a mass of shuffling and curses as everyone scrambled to obey his command. Still, despite the reluctance of some of the children to go inside, by the time the ship rolled to a halt in front of the guild hall, the door was solidly barricaded and the rest of his adoptive children were arrayed around him, ready to fight.

There was no sign of anyone on the deck, but it was so high that Makarov couldn't see over the edges of the railing, so he couldn't be certain the deck was unoccupied. After several long moments with no movement or challenge from the pirate ship, Makarov gathered air in his lungs and bellowed, "Who are you and what do you want with Fairy Tail? Show yourselves!"

There was a pause after he spoke, then a soft scuffling and a head popped over the top of the ship's figurehead, spiky blond hair glinting in the sun as the small figure leaned an arm over the railing to wave lazily down at Makarov, "Oi! _Jiji_! Look what we found!"

A dark mess of blue hair popped up next to the blond, a tongue with Fairy Tail's distinctive mark wagging cheerfully as the second figure called down with glee, "Can we keep 'em, _Jiji_? They're already housebroken and everything!"

Makarov opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again, then slapped his face hard, "Stupid brats. I am never letting you out of the guild building again…"

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Rihanna sat on a bed in Fairy Tail's infirmary, her back exposed to Porlyusica's "tender" ministrations while Bickslow, Laxus, Mest, and Cana sat on nearby beds awaiting their turn for inspection. The cranky healer was in fine form as she unwrapped Rihanna's bandages and got a good look at her injuries, "Of all the- Why Makarov let's you out of his sight is beyond me. Stupid humans. So? Is one of you brats going to tell me how this happened? Or am I going to have to guess? Not that I couldn't, moronic Fairies. A worse kind of trouble-makers I have never seen."

Rihanna winced as Porlyusica ran cool fingers over her back, lightly nudging the edges of the whip marks while Laxus relayed the story of their exploits to the misanthropic woman. Porlyusica had no reservations about thoroughly lecturing them all over their stupidity once the story was told, but Rihanna thought she detected a note of concern amid her biting insults and waspish demands to know who had been treating Rihanna's back up until that point.

Mest was sent out to fetch Marco, and as soon as the blond had arrived, Porlyusica bombarded him with questions about how he had treated the children's injuries, what the original injuries had been, and what symptoms they had displayed while on board the ship. Rihanna was impressed when Marco didn't so much as blink under Porlyusica's verbal assault, merely answering the questions as promptly and thoroughly as he could.

It wasn't until Porlyusica demanded to know what kind of disinfectant he had used on Rihanna's injuries that Marco finally showed a touch of discomfort. Averting his gaze for a moment he lifted one shoulder as he answered, "I … used my magic, yoi."

Porlyusica went very still, "What."

Marco rubbed the back of his neck, "My magic. I used my magic on their injuries to keep them clean."

Porlyusica turned away from Rihanna's back very slowly, her voice still flat and expressionless, "You have healing magic."

Marco shook his head, "Yes- No- … Not really, yoi. At least, not anything I can use on other people." He paused, sighed, and continued, "I use a magic called Phoenix Magic, yoi. Most of it is fire spells and a transformation spell, but there are some purification spells too. I didn't know what Marcus might have added to his whip with those runes of his, so I thought that my magic would be the safest bet to ensure that their wounds were clean of poison something like that, yoi."

Porlyusica stared hard at Marco for several long seconds before she sighed through her nose and hissed, "Fine then. Get out. There are too many humans crowding the area anyway. Go back to your ship and wait for your captain to be finished speaking with Makarov." Marco, perhaps sensing the danger of crossing Porlyusica, dipped his head politely and beat a hasty exit.

Turning back to Rihanna, Porlyusica worked on her in silence for a while, mixing various herbs she had brought and beating them into a paste with a vindictiveness that made the children in the room nervous. Finally, Porlyusica spoke again, "So. Finish the story. What happened after you finished fighting the whip-wielder and you all decided sleeping on a pirate ship with strangers was safe?"

The boys all exchanged glances before Mest was elected the unofficial spokesman, "After that, we had to wait a day for Newgate-san and his crew to make some emergency repairs to the ship. Then we sailed on it to the nearest town, where we dropped off Marcus and his pirates at the local Rune Knight Precinct with the stuff they had stolen and a long note about their crimes and warnings about Marcus's magic."

Rihanna snorted faintly at that. By "dropped off", Mest literally meant "had thrown overboard and sailed away before they could be caught themselves". That had been more than a little interesting.

Mest shot Rihanna a look at her snort, but continued his story, "After that, Newgate-san was kind enough to make a quick stop at the location of the _Raijinshū's_ original job and Marco-san and Haruta-chan helped them retrieve the desired item and return it to the client. That took about a day and a half. From there, Newgate-san had the ship sailing all through the night and most of today in order to reach Magnolia as quickly as possible."

Porlyusica hummed neutrally at the end of his story, but for once that day did not express her opinion of their actions. She finished smearing a strange herbal paste on Wren's injuries and bandaged them tightly before she announced, "Well. Thanks to the quick thinking of that young man, Wren-chan's injuries are not as bad as they rightfully should be. That being said, I've added a paste to further bring down the swelling and accelerate the healing, but those wounds are still going to leave faint scars."

Rihanna shrugged at that, she had been expecting something to that order, then winced as the motion pulled at said injuries. Porlyusica lightly swatted Rihanna's head for her action while Bickslow and the others seemed to teleport to her side and hover worriedly. Rihanna waved them off and soon they were too busy surviving Porlyusica's "tender mercies" to hover and baby her like they had been for the past several days.

While she appreciated the sentiment, it had been very smothering at times. Even though Mest, Bickslow, and Laxus had all received worse injuries that she had, it was Rihanna that everyone had treated like some kind of glass doll. Though Laxus had his accelerated healing factor and the other two boys were physically older than her so she supposed she could see where the worry came from … but still. Mest trying to carry her everywhere, Bickslow trying to make sure she didn't do anything remotely strenuous, and Laxus hovering in the background glaring at any non-Fairy who came too close had gotten very tedious.

Even Cana had gotten in on the mother-hen antics of the boys, actually threatening to seal Rihanna in one of her cards if the girl didn't sit quietly in their temporary room and wait for them to complete the job for which they'd originally set out.

Eventually, everyone had been treated by the darkly muttering Porlyusica, who had then left as soon as her work was complete. She had barely stopped long enough to leave instructions on how to care for each of the children's remaining injuries, warn Mest that his facial scar was going to be permanent, and give Laxus a brief lecture about how even if he had accelerated healing, he shouldn't go about doing stupid things that would dislocate his shoulder and fracture a rib.

The look of surprise on Laxus's face at that last part seriously worried Rihanna. How could he have not known that he had fractured a rib during his fight with Marcus? Granted, the thing was already healed to the point there was only a mild bruise left, but still.

For a long moment after Porlyusica swept out, muttering curses against humanity's stupidity the entire way, none of them spoke. Bickslow just moved to sit protectively next to Rihanna, his tikis squeaking unintelligible mutters as they looped lazily through the room.

Finally Cana cleared her throat to gain the attention of the others and asked shyly, "So … what do you think the Master and Newgate-san have been talking about for so long? I mean, we got back to the guild three hours ago, do you think they're done yet?"

Laxus shrugged, "No idea. But Newgate-san **did** say something about owing the guild for our actions. Maybe they're working out a payment."

Mest tilted his head skeptically, "With what? The stolen money and loot we dropped off at the Rune Knight Precinct? Aside from the ship and their skills, Newgate-san and his family don't have anything to pay the Master **with**. Besides, Master Makarov isn't the type to demand money in compensation for this kind of thing. He's more likely to insist that Newgate-san doesn't owe Fairy Tail a thing."

Cana chewed her lip, "Newgate-san doesn't strike me as the type to give up just because Master said something like that."

Bickslow tilted his head, "So what would he do?"

Mest shrugged, but Laxus slipped off of the bed and made for the door with a curt, "Let's find out."

Rihanna sighed as she followed along behind, deftly dodging Mest's attempt to pick her up and carry her. Bickslow hovered nearby, looking both curious as to what Laxus intended to do and worried over his little sister possibly tiring herself out. Rihanna wished she could tell them all that she was not going to drop dead simply from walking on her own two feet, but she knew that the lecture would be lost on everyone but Bickslow and he wouldn't listen anyway.

The group slipped quietly through the guild building, avoiding the guild hall where their fellow Fairy Tail members were having a welcome/thank you party for Newgate's crew. Laxus led the way to a room next to Master Makarov's office and Rihanna looked around curiously as he herded them inside. Putting a finger to his lips to indicate silence, Laxus padded over to the wall the room shared with Master Makarov's office and carefully fiddled with something. The thing turned out to be a small knothole of wood that had been carved out of the rest of the wall and could thus be pulled out at will.

Everyone crowded around the hole with varying degrees of eagerness save Rihanna, who was forcibly herded away by Bickslow so as not to risk her back getting bumped. Instead, one of Bickslow's tiki dolls floated by her ear and whispered everything Bickslow could hear through the hole.

Most of it went over Rihanna's head to the point where she strongly suspected that Bickslow was mistranslating. She did manage to understand that Makarov and Newgate were in fact working out some way of both repaying Newgate's debt to Fairy Tail and keeping Newgate and his adoptive family out of jail for their unwilling parts in Marcus's crimes. Words like divisions and regular visits were bandied about as well as other words Bickslow didn't know, which led to the tiki just muttering gibberish before continuing.

Mest, who was second closest to the hole, seemed to understand the missing words just fine as he suddenly gasped. Laxus slapped a hand over Mest's mouth with an urgent look and Bickslow's tikis squeaked in terror, which made Cana slap the back of Bickslow's head and hiss at him to be quiet. Both were given a death glare by Laxus and everyone in the room held their breath, hoping that the faint noises hadn't been heard by Master Makarov and Newgate.

Just as Rihanna was beginning to think they were in the clear, Makarov's voice shook the wall, "Alright brats! I know you're in there! Get over here!"

Rihanna winced, _great, now we're going to be in trouble for eavesdropping on top of our latest bout of Fairy Tail Luck._ Laxus's shoulders slumped in defeat while Cana cuffed Bickslow's head and stomped on Mest's foot for giving them away. Bickslow automatically retaliated with a firm tug on Cana's hair and a brawl between the two was only prevented by Rihanna getting between them and giving them The Look.

Mest muttered an apology as they exited the room and moved one door down to Makarov's study. Laxus reluctantly led the way inside, his gaze fixed on the floor. Master Makarov glared down at them from his desk while Newgate somehow managed to look comfortable and amused in an armchair three sizes too small for him. One of Makarov's bushy white eyebrows went up expectantly, "And just what are you kids doing, hmmm?"

Mest bowed in apology, "I'm sorry, Master. I know I shouldn't have let them listen in, but I-"

Bickslow shoved his hands in his pockets and looked rebellious, "We were just curious. You've been up here for **hours**." His tikis immediately took up the agitated chorus of "hours, hours", causing Cana to twitch for her tarot cards in annoyance.

"Cana." Master Makarov's voice was solemn, with just enough edge to it to be a warning, but not quite enough to be reprimand. Cana lowered her hands and folded them behind her back with a muttered apology. Master Makarov shifted his gaze to Laxus, "Well?"

Laxus lifted his gaze from the floor long enough to say defiantly, "I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done." Master Makarov sputtered at that and Rihanna sensed that there was some kind of story behind the phrase and reaction. Newgate just chuckled his deep, floor vibrating chuckle as he watched on.

Master Makarov recovered from his sputtering and shifted his gaze at last to Rihanna. She met it calmly. She felt no guilt at listening in to the conversation, mostly because she hadn't actually heard anything. Even if she had, she was certain Master Makarov and Newgate had already known they were in the other room before Laxus had even removed the knothole. She had seen Master Makarov's prodigious magic sensing -or perhaps it was child sensing- skills at work before. There was no way Makarov at least had not known and Newgate seemed to have the same kind of radar when it came to his crew.

The only reason they'd been called in now rather than earlier was because Mest and Bickslow had given up the game. Besides, if it was really supposed to be a secret, Makarov shouldn't have had it in the guild building. Everyone in Fairy Tail knew that everyone else was a snoop at heart.

Master Makarov's other eyebrow joined the first in a raised position, "You regret nothing." It was more of a dry statement than a question, but Rihanna nodded her head anyway. Master Makarov sighed heavily, "Of course not. Little scamp. At least you're honest about it."

Newgate's chuckles grew louder at that, his smile curving to match his impossible mustache, "Children."

Master Makarov nodded sagely, as if he knew exactly what Newgate was talking about. He probably did. Master Makarov was a parental or grandparental figure to the entire guild in some way or other after all.

"Fine," huffed Master Makarov, "since you kids want to know so badly. Come along." Master Makarov paused and looked over at Newgate, "Unless there are any other details that need to be clarified?"

Newgate shook his head, smile still in place, "Not at all. You covered everything perfectly. I'm sure my children will be delighted. So long as you are certain this will work?"

Master Makarov gave a sharp nod, "Absolutely." With that, the short guild master jumped off of his desk and led the way out of the office, Newgate calmly following while Rihanna and the children trailed behind. Rihanna took a moment to marvel over the fact that Newgate actually fit down the hallway. Certainly, he had to bend his head a bit and there was no room for anyone to walk beside him, but she hadn't realized that the hallways and doorways of the guild hall were so … big. At least until there was a giant of a man to stride down them with booming footsteps.

Her renewed awe at Newgate's size sputtered and died in favor of annoyance when they reached the guild hall. _Really? The rest of the guild hasn't even known them for more than a few hours and it's already come to this?_ Laxus gave a huff of laughter while Mest groaned in embarrassment at the chaos before them and Bickslow flung himself into the middle of it all with a whoop.

A gust of wind sent a table flying as Haruta leaped into the air, cackling wildly until she was felled by an expertly thrown slice of cake. Thatch had engaged Wakaba in a "battle of the pompadours", which basically entailed dueling with frying pans she had no idea as to the origin of, arguing over which hair products were better, and bragging about who's pompadour was bigger.

The hulking form of Jozu, coated defensively in his crystal magic, glittered in the sunlight and scattered rays of light throughout the brawl like some kind of living disco ball. The man looked utterly baffled as to what course of action to take while Fairy Tail's native kleptomaniac sat on his shoulders and threw things at anyone who dared come near "her newest treasure". Macao separated briefly from the throng, yelling loudly as one of Newgate's sons, a distinctly shark-like fellow named Namur, clung stubbornly to Macao's left leg with his teeth.

Vista appeared to have challenged the bartender to a duel with brooms over who got to guard the alcohol and Rakuyo was being dragged around the room by his living spiked flail, which was trying to catch the flying object that looked suspiciously like the words "Flying Stick".

A flicker of motion above and to her right made Rihanna look up to see that a very unimpressed Marco had somehow escaped to the rafters with a giggling Levy perched in his lap, safely away from the chaos. A loud and familiar "zat" noise cut above the other hubbub and Rihanna distinctly smelled burning hair. She looked back at the brawl to see that one of Bickslow's wayward lasers had somehow managed to ricochet off of Wakaba's and Thatch's frying pans and set their pompadours on fire. Both men were now running around the room in a panic, cheerful green flames eating slowly away at the ends of their ridiculous hairstyles.

Haruta whipped by, having recovered from being hit with the cake slice, and accidentally sent Thatch sprawling into one of the other guild members. Some of the green flame on his hair transferred to the unfortunate member's pants, causing yet another shrill yelp of panic to pierce the air as that member too began running around frantically and spreading the green flame until one of Cana's slapped the man with a water card as she scurried by, having gotten involved in the brawl via Bickslow's taunts.

Rihanna and Master Makarov both facepalmed. Judging from the faint sound of flesh meeting flesh in the rafters, they weren't the only ones. Newgate just looked bemused by the entire thing, "Normal?"

Master Makarov heaved a sigh, "Yes. You?"

Newgate's smile took on a more reminiscent air, "Used to be. Though, I have not seen my children this rambunctious since… Well. It is nice to see them smile like this again."

Judging from the cries of relief and the green smoke that wafted by, Thatch and Wakaba had managed to put out their pompadours by rushing off to the kitchen sinks. Of course, in exchange for that brand of chaos dying down, Rakuyo's flail had spotted Bickslow's tikis and was now chasing after those instead the flying stick. Of course, the tikis and Bickslow were making their displeasure over the pursuit known. Loudly. So were the various brawlers who got run over by Rakuyo as he tried to stop his weapon and ended up getting flung around on the end of the chain instead.

Finally, Master Makarov and Newgate appeared to have enough of the building insanity and damage to the guild hall. The Master's fist hurtled into the middle of the fray at the size of a large table while Newgate clapped his hands together like a thunderclap and they both yelled, " **That's enough**!"

Rihanna, like the other guild members who hadn't been hit by Master Makarov's fist, held her hands to her ears at the volume of Newgate's clap. The brawl ground to a halt, both guild members and ex-pirates looking guiltily in the direction of their leaders from their varied and awkward mid-motion positions.

Master Makarov retracted his hand back to his side and waited until people had cautiously uncovered their ears to speak again, "Alright, if you're done making **even** **more paperwork** for me to sign," at this several guild members flinched in guilt, "then listen up, you reckless children! We have a proposition to make!"

Newgate and Makarov strode over to the bar and Makarov jumped onto it in order to be more easily seen while Newgate spoke, "In light of our current circumstances and debt to Fairy Tail, Master Makarov has offered a solution to both problems. This solution is not mandatory, and if any of my children disapprove, then we will find another solution. However, I believe it would be best for you to listen to him."

Everyone separated from their mid-brawl positions and clustered around the bar to listen, curious murmurs sweeping through the group as they did so. There was a soft thump beside Rihanna as Marco jumped down from the rafters, an inquisitive Levy in his arms. When everyone had gathered around, Master Makarov outlined his idea.

"Alright then. Newgate-san has explained your position to me in detail, and it basically comes down to this; you're broke, you're homeless save for a rundown ship that you cannot pay to repair, and you insist that you owe this guild something for the actions of my grandson and his _Raijinshū_. Now," Makarov leveled a stern look at Newgate's children, "as the Master of Fairy Tail, I do not accept debts nor do I demand money for the acts of kindness and bravery of my children. Especially not from those who are clearly unable to afford such a thing. However, as the Master of Fairy Tail, I **do** offer a place and a home to those who need one."

Rihanna's eyes went wide and startled noises went up from Newgate's children, _Did he just?_ Master Makarov held up a hand for silence, "I know that after what you have been through, you are very reluctant to join a guild of strangers you have just met. However, your father has negotiated special conditions with me that would allow you to keep a good deal of your autonomy. Should you join Fairy Tail, the guild will fund the repairing of your ship and you will be designated as a special seafaring division, or sub-guild if you will, of Fairy Tail. Newgate-san will be your captain and as such would be the one to make the majority of day-to-day decisions and the managing of your division. You would be able to recruit new members as Newgate-san sees fit, take on your own jobs independently of Fairy Tail as well as accept jobs from our main mission board over there."

He folded his hands behind his back, "As a division of Fairy Tail, you would be required to check in with me at the main guild building every six months to give a set percentage of your collective job earnings to the Guild Fund and have any new members you acquire introduced to me and stamped with our guild mark."

Master Makarov paused to let all of that sink in before he continued, "Although you would have much autonomy from the rest of the guild, there would be certain guidelines and rules that must be followed without exception. I have explained these already to you father, and he has agreed to them. In a few years time, once you have established yourselves as reliable and legal mages, should you so desire you may separate from the guild entirely to start one of your own. I will even write a letter of recommendation to our more sea-orientated clients should that event occur."

His lips tugged into a gentle smile, "Or, you can stay in Fairy Tail. You would be more than welcome."

There was a long, stunned silence from Newgate's adoptive children while the guild members waited eagerly for a response to their Master's offer. Marco set down Levy and stepped forward, a frown in place of his usual, apathetic expression, "Why would you do all that for us, yoi? **We** are the ones who owe **you** a debt, not the other way around. Why go to all the trouble, yoi?"

Master Makarov locked gazes with Marco seriously for a moment, "Fairy Tail has, and always will be, a haven for those who need one. A home for those with none. Debt, no debt, it matters not to me. In fact, one could even say that I owe a debt to you and yours for tending to the injuries of my children and bringing them safely home. If you wish to stay with us, you are more than welcome. If you do not, then you may go, but know that the offer will always be open to you. That is the way of Fairy Tail. I am only offering to you what has been offered to every one of us here before. I know that may not be much of a reason to you, but for us, it is enough. Though, if you insisted on a personal reason as to my offering you a place here…"

A large grin suddenly rose to Master Makarov's face, and Rihanna felt something warm blossom in her heart as she realized it was the exact same one that he had given her and Bickslow that day in the infirmary when he offered them a place in the guild, "I suppose it would be because you all remind me of my own children." He shot an amused look at Newgate-san, "and as a fellow father, I can tell that Newgate-san could use all the help he can get to handle you lot."

Newgate's lips curled upward and he gave a low bark of laughter, "Indeed." Newgate's gaze went back to being serious a moment later as he looked out over his children and raised an eyebrow in silent question.

Rihanna watched with bated breath as Marco exchanged long glances with the rest of his siblings, a silent conversation going between them while Fairy Tail watched on hopefully. Finally, a small, lazy smile curled on Marco's lips and he turned back to Master Makarov, "If the rest of your guild is anything like the _Raijinshū_ , then we'd be glad to join, yoi."

The guild hall immediately shook with the cheers of the Fairy Tail members as they surged forward to officially welcome Newgate and his children into the fold. Rihanna felt a smile grow on her face while Laxus looked absolutely smug and Mest just gave a soft sigh over the increase in craziness. Bickslow and Cana pushed their way back to Rihanna's side, Bickslow wrapping an arm carefully but gleefully around her as he crowed, "We get to keep 'em! _Jiji's_ letting us keep 'em!"

Cana crossed her arms as she watched the celebrations start, "That's great and all, really it is, but I have just one question…" The rest of the small group looked at Cana expectantly and she elaborated with something of a pout, "Why did just you three get all the credit for being a good example of Fairy Tail?"

Bickslow tilted his head, "What do you mean 'just us three'?"

Cana made an impatient gesture, "Marco-san said that if the rest of the guild was like the _Raijinshū_ , he'd be happy to join! He didn't even mention Mest and me!"

Mest tilted his head in thought at her declaration and reached to scratch at his facial bandage until Rihanna glared warningly at him. Laxus gave a very slow blink, "But … he did mention you."

Cana's pout shifted to a baffled frown, "No, he didn't! I mean, I know it's not really important, but he only said-"

" _Raijinshū_ ," Laxus interrupted, "he said ' _Raijinshū_ '. Which is us. I don't see the problem."

Cana and Mest stared blankly at Laxus for his answer for several seconds before their eyes both widened and Mest gave a nervous laugh, "No. No-no. No way. I am **not** part of your group." Laxus shot the older boy a bland look and Mest made an emphatic X motion with his arms, " **No** , Laxus. Never. I have nothing against you guys, and nothing against helping out a fellow Fairy in need, but any **one** of you three has worse Fairy Tail Luck in a week than I get in a **year**. So no."

Laxus raised an eyebrow, something amused flashing through his gaze that only Mest seemed able to translate. Mest shook his head, "No." Laxus tilted his head to one side, eyebrow creeping higher on his forehead as he did so and Mest made a strangled noise before he flung his arms in the air and teleported away in disgust. Rihanna shook her head and shared a glance with Laxus, _poor fool. Still in denial._

"Cana?" Bickslow's concerned voice brought Rihanna's and Laxus's attention back to the Card Mage in an instant. Cana stood a short distance from them, her hands clutching her bag strap so tightly her knuckles had gone white. The noise of the celebration seemed to fade away for Rihanna, all that mattered was the little girl in front of her that suddenly seemed like she was two words away from shattering.

Rihanna gave a low whistle of concern that either Bickslow automatically translated or was thinking himself, "What's wrong?"

"Do you really mean it?" Cana's voice was soft, so soft Rihanna felt she shouldn't have been able to hear it, yet it somehow became the loudest sound in the room for the three standing across from Cana.

"Do we mean what, Cana?" Laxus sounded serious, his voice hitting the same low yet gentle quality it had had during Rihanna's panic attack after the Gildarts Incident.

Her hair had fallen over her face, so Rihanna could not see the other girl's expression. However, Cana's shaking, hopeful-yet-not-daring voice expressed everything she needed to know, "You want me … in the _Raijinshū_? I'm … a part of the group?"

Rihanna frowned, not understanding why this seemed so important to her. Why the insinuation seemed to shake her so badly, why there was such a desperate **want** in Cana's voice when they were already friends and fellow guild members. Did being considered part of the _Raijinshū_ really mean that much to her?

Much to Rihanna's surprise, although she did not understand it, Bickslow seemed to. The bluenette stepped forward, the taunts and teases he usually aimed at Cana nowhere to be found as he held out a hand, palm up, to her, "Do you want to be?" Cana's head tilted up from her chest, watering brown eyes coming into view as she stared at Bickslow. A silent conversation passed between them and Rihanna felt certain that there was some aspect to the conversation that she was missing, something important only the two of them knew.

Cana bit her lip and looked down at the ground, one hand letting go of her purse strap to rub the bandages under her shirt, "I…" Her gaze flicked up to Bickslow again, then to Laxus and Rihanna. Rihanna felt something inside her chest squeeze tight at what she saw in Cana's eyes and the question shot through her mind of, _Mavis. Has she always been this … broken?_ Cana's hand slid down to her side as she whispered, "Can I?"

Rihanna moved without thinking, not entirely sure as to her own course of action and yet desperate to do something. Bickslow gave a tiny start of surprise as Rihanna cupped her hand beneath his, her eyes never leaving Cana's as she did so. A moment later, Laxus's larger, already callused palm cupped Rihanna's as he nudged his way to stand with Bickslow and her. All three looked patiently at Cana, waiting for her reply.

"Do you want to be?" Bickslow repeated softly.

Cana was blinking back tears at that point, several escaping to trickle down her chin anyway as she reached out a shaking hand to place it in theirs and whispered, "Yes." As one, their grips shifted, Bickslow's still firmly gripping her palm while Laxus and Rihanna laid their hands on top of hers.

Laxus looked … proud somehow as he said, "Then welcome to the _Raijinshū_." _"Welcome home"_ , his tone somehow conveyed and Rihanna felt her throat close a little at Cana's fragile yet brilliant smile. Laxus exhaled sharply and abruptly shifted his grip to pull Cana toward the celebration occurring on the main guild hall floor, dragging Rihanna and Bickslow along by extension, "Well, come on then. We've got new members to celebrate."

Cana looked as if someone had just gifted her the stars as she said, "Right!"

Rihanna let herself get pulled into the celebration alongside Bickslow and Cana. For a moment, she worried, fretted over the fact that Cana hadn't been part of the _Raijinshū_ in the show. Worried that somehow this would ruin everything.

Then she saw the look on Cana's face as she bickered with Bickslow and let Laxus order her some cake. It was like someone had just given her a coat in the middle of a freezing snow storm, or a present on her birthday when everyone else had forgotten. The look in her eyes spoke of warmth and light in a way Rihanna didn't think they ever had in the show.

She thought the look was oddly familiar until it hit her that she had seen that look before. It was the same look Bickslow had had when the _Raijinshū_ had just formed. It was the look that said _"I'm home"_. At that, Rihanna realized she didn't care if Cana hadn't been part of the _Raijinshū_ in the anime. That she didn't have to know why being simply a fellow Fairy Tail member hadn't been enough to soothe whatever had been steadily breaking Cana without Rihanna's knowledge.

All that mattered was that Cana was happy now. That she was one of **theirs** now, and somehow, that was exactly where she should be.

.

* * *

 **So, an** **explanation on Cana's behavior in the last part of this chapter: First off, I've noticed that among Fairy Tail, every member has their own sort of "family tree". While all of Fairy Tail is family, some see certain members as siblings while they see the rest as cousins/uncles/aunts/parental figures/love-interests. I think that's where the concept of individual teams within Fairy Tail come from. The sibling-like ones, or the ones with romantic interest, tend to group together. While all Fairies treat each other as family in some way or other, some are closer to certain members than others for whatever reason. Just look at Team Natsu. Erza is like the big, sometimes scary, sister of Natsu and Gray. Arguably she's like that to all the members in her age group, but especially those two. She gravitated towards them, just like Natsu and Gray gravitate towards each other in a "cats-and-dogs-brothers" sort of way. Lucy fits in as both a potential love interest and as a younger sister figure. She tries to keep the boys in line, but she's too inexperienced. In Shadow Gear, Jet and Droy clearly believe their in love with Levy, but she doesn't see them the same way. To her, they're more of her dorky siblings. See where I'm going with this? Basically, every Fairy Tail member sees the other members a little differently and gravitated toward members as siblings figures or romantic interests while everyone else are considered to be slightly more distant, but still loved and protected, relatives.**

 **With that said, I've noticed that while Cana is very much loyal to the guild, is always willing to help out a fellow Fairy, and is well-liked, she seems kind of ... distant from everyone else in the anime. I mean, sure, she's drinking buddies with Macao and she's friendly when spoken to, but she is still not quite "part of the clan" in some ways, so to speak. I mean, she was in the guild for years, since she was a small child, and never told ANYONE her secret about being Gildarts daughter. The only reason she told Lucy was out of desperation. It was her last try at proving herself worthy of telling Gildarts, she needed to confide in someone or she'd snap.**

 **That kinda tells me that while she saw Fairy Tail as a family, she didn't see members of her "generation" of Fairies as siblings like the others do. If anything, she was the silly, kinda crass but loving older cousin who liked to get them in trouble and tease them about their crushes. For all that she was a member of Fairy Tail, she was also alone (completely self-imposed because of self-worth and trust issues, but still). However, in this timeline, Bickslow knows her secret and accepts her wholeheartedly, even went out of his way to invite her to the Raijinshū's training sessions to help her reach her goal. He treats her like an equal and isn't afraid to squabble with her, even knowing her lineage and having seen her Aura Scars. Furthermore, while Laxus doesn't know her secret, he is surprisingly encouraging and accepting in his own way and treats her no differently than Bickslow and Wren. Namely, he treats Cana like one of His. His Raijinshū, his to train, his to protect, his to scold or praise. That kind of total acceptance, coupled with Bickslow's support of her secret goal and Wren's 'big sister' attitude (not that Cana realizes it's that role) changed how she saw the Raijinshū. The Raijinshū aren't just "fellow Fairies" anymore. They're a support system I personally believe she desperately needed (but never let herself have) in the anime. They are her missing sibling figures, and while that doesn't make up for her lack of a parent, it still helps a lot.**

 **Does that make any sense at all? I hope so, because I have no other way of explaining it.**


	26. Chapter 25: Last Pieces - Pt 1

**I return! Man, I thought I'd be putting in a humorous one-shot-like chapter before I started this, but the muses demanded and so here we are, launching straight into the next arc. I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Review Response: Dear Cbyte128, greetings! Of course it's alive! It was just dormant for a little while. Glad you thought Cana's actions were believable, I was a bit worried how it would go over. Exactly! I'm kinda going for the whole "pebble sets off a landslide" effect when it comes to the changes caused by Wren's being there. The Whitebeards were fun, I couldn't resist keeping them. Hmmm, well, you do have a point, but you'll have to wait and see for yourself just what changes will happen because of the Whitebeards being members of Fairy Tail. No idea, maybe you're just lucky?**

 **Dear YumiKnowsBest, hello there! Glad to hear it! Oh no, I'm not giving out spoilers. You'll just have to wait and see for yourself what happens when we get to those arcs. Oh, don't worry, things are going to get progressively more AU as we go on. Some things will stay the same, but you should also being seeing a lot of changes as we go on. Again, I can't answer those questions without giving out spoilers, so you'll just have to wait and see. Here is a new update! I hope you like it!**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hey there! So happy to hear it! Eh ... not a bad suggestion, but I always thought nymphs was more of a feminine title. They'll probably still be called "Whitebeard", but instead of "pirates" it will just be "crew" or "fairies". Newgate's mustache is VERY distinctive after all.**

 **Dear Guest, hi there! Happy to hear it! Hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Dear Palladin1337, greetings! Thank you, I had fun writing. Well, brace yourself, because the next wave of insanity is already on its way! Cannon changes will become more evident as we go along.**

 **Dear BizzyLizy, hi! Good to be back! I was hoping that idea would go over well, so far it seems to be a hit! I know right? It seemed that way to me too, so here I am doing something about it. Poor Mest, he's in denial. But no matter how much he struggles, he'll be assimilated eventually (cackles).**

 **Dear Ori Heartlyng, hello! It's no problem, I completely understand. I'm just happy you're here to review now! Heh, heh, it's fine. I'm sorry if I sounded snappish at all, I was just trying to clear up any potential misunderstandings down the line. Glad you enjoy that part. Well, one of his scars. I didn't add all three because I thought that it would be odd to receive that many scars to the face, two of which being perpendicular to the third, in a single fight. But yeah, he's got the first of his three iconic scars now! Hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Dear snowleopard314, hello there! Aw, thank you for your compliments! That's kinda a pet peeve of mine, actually. I mean, what's the point of giving a character a disability like that only to magically wave it away within the first few chapters? That and having the character go up to the first authority figure they see and blurt out future information that they got from a TV show in a parallel dimension is just ... no. Just no. You're welcome, I enjoy sharing it with all of you. I hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Author's Note: So! Next major arc is here. It will probably be a two-parter, maybe more. After that will be yet another important arc because I am a slightly impatient person with a lot of material to cover. But for now, I hope you enjoy the first of the Last Pieces arc. Just watch out for the cliffy-ish ending. This chapter might get something of a warning for implied gore? Not directly described in detail, but those of us who have very vivid imaginations might want the heads up I suppose. Also, I am working on a one-shot for AUW so that I can FINALLY start the one-shot collection I promised forever ago. I won't be able to post it until at least the chapter after this is up because of timeline reasons, but yeah, just a heads up on that. For those who also read my transformers story, I'm working on it. The next chapter should be edited and posted ... sometime this week. I hope. Will all of that covered, on to the chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Five: Last Pieces.**

 **(Six months, three days since joining the guild)**

.

Rihanna took a deep breath of the cool fall air as the _Raijinshū_ ambled slowly down the road. Trees rattled orange and gold leaves in the faint breezes that nipped Rihanna's nose and puffy white clouds chased each other through the sky high above.

The _Raijinshū_ were returning from a job that had gone shockingly well for once. In their quest to catch a notorious jewel thief, they had only broken two walls, set fire to one museum exhibit -which had survived with minimal singeing-, and knocked over four skeletons of various prehistoric creatures. Plus, the three explosions that had occurred had been in no way their fault.

The museum curator had not been … completely pleased with the results. But, they had managed to both capture the thief and return the stolen jewels unharmed, so they had only gotten a minor deduction on their reward and were sent on their way.

Mest, who had been dragged into the _Raijinshū's_ shenanigans more and more over the past two months, hadn't really appreciated Rihanna's comment over the lack of chaos. According to him, the chase had been plenty chaotic and their Fairy Tail Luck was still the worst he'd ever seen.

Bickslow had pointed out that Mest was just miffed that the jewel thief had been able to evade him several times despite Mest's use of teleportation magic. He had also pointed out that if Mest really hated their luck, why did he willingly come with them on the past four jobs instead of striking out on his own?

Mest had had no answer for that beyond a low grumble and a dire warning that since the job went so splendidly, they were bound to run into massive trouble on the way home. Rihanna had a bad feeling that Mest was right, but the day was nice enough that she was willing to pretend otherwise.

Cana stretched her arms over her head with a low purr, "Hmmm, pity we didn't bring an extra lunch and a blanket. We could have a picnic or something."

Bickslow snorted, "Who want's a picnic? Those are boring." His tikis chorused a cheeky "boring, boring, boring" and Rihanna shared a look of long-suffering with Laxus as Cana bristled and one of their infamous bickering bouts began.

Ever since Cana's position as a member of the _Raijinshū_ had been confirmed, she and Bickslow had become the Natsu and Gray of the team, always bickering with each other unless it was a life-threatening situation. As a consequence, Rihanna had found herself playing the role of the Erza to their Natsu and Gray with irritating frequency.

Mest waved his hands slightly, trying to come between the two head-butting mage children, "Guys, guys, come on. It's such a nice day, can't you two just get along for five minutes?"

Laxus snorted softly, "Not unless some massive disaster strikes and they have an enemy to beat up instead of each other."

Rihanna was about to nod in agreement when her increasingly honed Fairy Tail Luck instincts tingled and the universe proved once again to love its ironic timing.

Somewhere off to their left, someone started screaming.

The _Raijinshū_ all paused for a moment to stare at each other, then turned toward the sound as one and started running. _Of course we'd run into trouble on the way home. Of course we would! Why did I ever think Mest had a chance of being wrong?_

 _We all knew that the job went off way too easily, especially since we haven't had any major trouble on a job in a month. An entire_ ** _month_** _! We were long overdue._ With that dire idea in mind, Rihanna shifted into her shadow form, seamlessly latching onto Laxus's shadow as he kept sprinting in the direction of the screams.

As they got closer, Rihanna was able to pick out two separate voices in the screams, as well as gruff yelling from much deeper voices. Something inside her went icy cold as one of the screams went up several octaves and the tone shifted from fear to something Rihanna never wanted to hear.

Pure, horrified agony. The kind of agony that came from being hurt -violated- in the worst ways possible. Mest swore, frustrated at his inability to teleport directly to the scene without knowing exactly where it was or having it in his direct line of sight. Laxus seemed to grow wings on his feet at the sounds, lightning sparking off of his body until he suddenly burst into his recently discovered lightning form and shot off, inadvertently knocking Rihanna out of shadow form with his burst of power.

Rihanna stumbled for a moment, then took off again for the source of the screaming, not bothering to take the time to drop back into shadow form. Her shadows bristled in preparation, a hundred scenarios flashing through her mind over what they were going to find … or if they were going to be too late. Thunder rattled her teeth as Laxus's roar of rage suddenly echoed from ahead of them.

Rihanna felt her heart jump in fear. She had heard Laxus get angry before. She still remembered the rage that had been in his voice and manner when he intervened during the fight with the pirate Marcus. But that shout … the rage in his voice just then had topped even that.

Before she could really contemplate what could make Laxus **that angry** , she and the others burst through the tree line and came to a stumbled stop in a scene much, much worse than anything Rihanna could have guessed.

Laxus seemed to tower over everyone else in the area, even over the large group of men backing nervously away from him. Lightning snapped off of his body in waves, the golden aura from when he had fought Marcus rolling off of him as he stood between the men and two huddled children.

Rihanna took a slow step further into the clearing to get a better look at the situation. Her eyes flickered over the signs of a struggle and her stomach rolled at the odd, burned smell that flooded her nostrils _. What is that smell? Is that-_ Her gaze flicked down and left, then froze. Ice dropped into her veins and disbelief choked her at the sight of a tipped over jar and its spilled contents. _No. No way. That isn't…_ A faint sob drew her gaze to the two children, one of whom had shakily raised his face from the shoulder of the other one. Their gazes met. The last pieces clicked into place in Rihanna's mind. The ice in her veins burned away under rage.

The startled men finally recovered from their surprise over Laxus's appearance and charged forward with shouts of arrogant defiance.

Shadows exploded from around her, swirling and rolling like the writhing tentacles of some underworld monster. The door behind her eyes throbbed dangerously as she launched herself forward into battle.

She may not be allowed to kill people. But in that moment, she swore she was going to make them **wish she could**.

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Evergreen kept her arms tightly wrapped around her stepbrother, terror and awe intertwining inside her as she watched their tormentors get utterly, totally demolished by the lightning-wielding boy and his companions. Thunder clapped in the air, tooth-rattlingly loud as he swatted aside yet another tormentor and engaged their leader directly in battle.

Her stepbrother shivered convulsively in her arms, a low choked sound of agonized awe shuddering out of his chest as he cradled the left side of his face, his right eye wide with shock at the carnage being unleashed. _On our behalf?_ That … was hard for Evergreen to wrap her head around. Not after everything that had happened to them for the past two months.

Their home burned to the ground in an attack made to look like an accident, taking their parents and everything they'd ever known with it. The head servant, her mother's most trusted advisor, selling them for their gift- no- their **curse**. The curse that kept Evergreen from looking anyone in the eye without her glasses, the curse that had gotten them **sold** like common household items.

They had escaped the men who had purchased them, only for this to happen. For these … monsters who made a living "acquiring" rare magic to sell to the highest bidder to spot Freed using his curse to defend Evergreen after she had stupidly gotten into trouble and hunt them down.

Mother had always warned them to be careful about revealing their curses. Evergreen had always assumed that it was because of what they could do to people. She had never dreamed that her mother might have been warning them about what people could do to **them**. That there were people, monsters, out there willing to hold Freed down and rip one of his eyes out of its socket just for the money they could get from it.

A noise from Evergreen's right made her look, startled in that direction. She screamed at the sight of one of the goggle-wearing monsters looming over her, one hand reaching out to grab Freed while the other brought a magic fire knife to bear. Freed cried out in both agony and terror as he was ripped from Evergreen's grasp. The man pinned Freed against his body, the glowing knife held dangerously close to his throat as he bellowed, "Nobody move, or the brat get's it!"

Evergreen didn't listen, she'd seen enough of these men to know that freezing was as much of a death warrant as taking the risk and moving. Her eyes glowed wildly with her curse, a curse that was frustratingly useless because of the man's goggles, as she lunged for him, "Let go of my brother!"

Startled, the man kicked her in the ribs, knocking her flat with a wheeze of air, "Brat!" The leg lashed out again, and Evergreen braced vainly for another rib fracturing blow, "I said-!"

Thunder clapped and light flashed so brilliantly that for a moment, Evergreen felt like she had gone both deaf and blind. Then it cleared and the blond boy who had first intervened was crouched there, one hand wrapped tightly around the man's outstretched ankle. The boy's glowing fingers squeezed the ankle he was holding and Evergreen heard something crack under the lightning-enhanced pressure. A feral noise, much more like a wild animal than a human, rippled from the boy's chest as the man screeched in pained surprise.

The boy's head tilted upward and while Evergreen could not see what his expression was, it must have been terrifying because the man froze. The boy's fingers clenched tighter and when he spoke, the feral noise from before layered into his voice, sending it to an unnaturally deep octave, "Let. The boy. Go."

Seeming to forget the benefit of his hostage, the man holding Freed shrieked and lashed out with his knife. The fire of the blade extended with the motion and the blond boy jerked back with a snarl, blood flying from the right side of his face. The reflexive jerk sent both the man and the boy off balance and they tumbled to the ground. Freed rolled clear with a sobbing cry and Evergreen scrambled for her stepbrother with a sob of her own.

All around, the fighting between the strangers who had appeared from nowhere with the blond boy and the monsters who had taken Freed's left eye was still going on thick and fast. Evergreen felt like gagging from the smell of blood and magic in the air and her ears rang with the battle cries and screams.

The man who had tried to hold Freed hostage scrambled to stand on one leg, the ankle of the other now oddly shaped and no longer able to hold his weight. The boy rolled to his feet around the same moment, the golden yellow of his magic aura still burning around him like flames as he growled, "I'm going to make you **pay** for what you've done."

The man's face twisted with fear again and he turned to run away only for a bolt of lightning to suddenly strike him from the sky. The man went sprawling with a scream, body taking a vaguely burnt appearance and muscles twitching spasmodically against the ground.

The boy looked over his shoulder at them and Evergreen felt her heart flutter frantically in her chest at the intensity of the boy's gaze. She kept her own gaze averted. Afraid of what her curse would do to the boy who had, for whatever reason, intervened on hers and Freed's behalf. Out of the corner of her eye however, she could see that the boy was no longer unscathed. His right eye was squeezed shut, blood dribbling freely from the jagged wound that went from above his eyebrow down almost to his jawline, passing directly over his eyelid on the way down.

 _He got that … defending us. Why is he…?_ Her gaze flickered briefly to the others wreaking havoc across the clearing. The tallest of their number was vanishing and reappearing at random intervals, his vicious kicks and punches from any angle wreaking havoc as he held his own against five of the men who had been chasing Evergreen and her stepbrother. Strange wooden … things whirled through the air like shrieking oversized bees, their green lasers blasting through the defensive magic of anyone who tried to box in their acrobatic master.

A girl whirled in and out of the group of men in sync with the boy who commanded the wooden bees, small squares of paper -cards?- flying from her hands to unleash blasts of fire, electricity, or water. Her brown hair swirled around her face as she ducked beneath a wild blast of light magic from one of the men and retaliated with a card that promptly exploded. Evergreen couldn't help a slight gasp of awe at the other girl's speed.

Something shifted on the edge of her vision and even over the rest of the clamoring battle, Evergreen could hear the shriek of the man who she saw getting dragged into the shadows by a mass of … tentacles. Tendrils. Something. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight, the impression of faceless horror. She couldn't see any mage controlling those … things. Only a huge, roiling mass of black that stalked along the edges of the field, emitting an aura of danger that coated the air like smoke.

As she watched, it darted into the main fray, tendrils lashing out with razor-sharp points to cut and harass the men before darting away again. As it did, it dragged another victim out of the crowd with it, reeling it into the central mass darkness like a predator slowly consuming hapless prey.

One man, having seen the fate of the other one, broke away from the combined attacks of the wooden bees and the card girl and made to run away. However, as soon as he reached the edge of the tree-line, the darkness was on him, tendrils latching onto his ankles and arms. They slammed him first against the ground, then picked him up and flung him into a tree with enough force to shatter it and the three behind it. Then that man too was dragged into the central darkness.

 _Why are they…?_ ** _What_** _are they…?_ Evergreen's gaze flickered back to the boy who commanded lightning, who had been watching her through her several second examination of the others. "Who?" She managed to gasp out shakily.

The boy came closer and Evergreen flinched, clutching a shaking Freed closer and raising her gaze warningly to the boy's collarbone, letting her curse shine clearly in her eyes. Even if he seemed to be helping them, she still didn't trust him enough to let him that close to her stepbrother. Not after all of the betrayal and hardship they had gone through so recently.

The boy stopped, but she felt as if he was somehow wrapping them protectively in the power that rolled off of his frame, "We are the _Raijinshū_ ," he answered lowly, "and we're going to make sure these scum **never touch you again**." Throwing back his head, the boy suddenly roared, " ** _Raijinshū_**! **Turn them to ash**!"

The other three howled their assents and renewed their attacks on their much bigger yet somehow still overwhelmed opponents while the mass of shadow spiked in size dangerously. The boy whirled away to rejoin the main fray and the step-siblings both watched him go with wide eyes and a growing feeling of adulation in their chests for the stranger who could command such dangerous allies and chose, for no discernible reason, to help them.

In that moment, watching the boy call lightning down from the sky in vengeance against the men who had hounded them and hurt them so badly, her previous distrust melted away and Evergreen swore that if she would follow that boy to the ends of Earthland and beyond.

She didn't know it, but somewhere in his agony-hazed mind, her stepbrother swore the same thing.

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Laxus was beyond enraged. The wild surges of feral emotion pulsing through his veins made even his anger at Marcus over two months ago feel like nothing. Back then, he had been acting on the rage at seeing how hurt Wren and Cana had been, but he had still been himself for the most part. But this time was different. What these … pieces of **trash** had done was beyond even the memories Wren's faded whip scars provoked. It was beyond anything he had seen and beyond any anger he had ever felt before.

He knew what these scum were, he recognized their mark and their purpose. Magic Hunters. People who stole rare magics, drained the original users of their power to fill up lacrima which could then be sold on the black market for hundreds of millions of jewels. He had known about them, dimly, for years. However, it wasn't until he had formed the _Raijinshū_ with Bickslow and Wren that his grandfather had taken him aside and warned him about what Magic Hunters were really capable of.

If Magic Hunters found people would wielded eye magic, especially young ones or ones who were not known to be in a guild, they extracted the eyes and sold them to people who wanted that kind of power. Properly "acquired" magic eyes went for billions of jewels, enough to support the guild that got them for decades. It had been horrifying to hear his grandfather tell him such things. But to see it? To see these scum pull the boy's eye right out of its socket before Laxus could stop them? To smell the burned flesh of the wound that had been cauterized by the heat of the tool used to rip the eye free?

The dragon inside his head howled in fury at the atrocity and this time Laxus didn't bother holding it back. Images of such a thing happening to Bickslow or Wren pounded through his mind, coupling with his righteous wrath over seeing it done to a kid not much younger than him to send him into battle frenzy the likes of which he had never even imagined possible.

These monsters were going to pay for what they had done and Laxus would not be satisfied until that debt had been repaid a thousandfold.

He spotted the leader of the group, the man he had had to stop fighting briefly in order to save the boy and the girl from the idiot with the knife. The leader was holding his own against the combined forces of Bickslow and Cana. Mest was still busy with three of the remaining minions and Wren was … Laxus had to search for a moment before he spotted the mass of writhing shadow. Wren was only just barely visible in the center of it, her eyes blazing with the same frenzy as his as she stalked toward the leader.

The more tactical side of his mind, suppressed by his rage though it was, prodded his mind and he called, "Wren!" Blazing eyes with thin trails of black smoke rising from them to match her rippling black aura met his and he pointed back toward the two kids. "Keep them safe! I'll deal with this trash!"

Her lips curled to bare her teeth in a savage expression of irritation at being denied a fight. The dragon paused in its roaring to growl stiffly, wary -as it always was for reasons Laxus couldn't understand- of the tiny shadow-user. Laxus subconsciously rolled his shoulders, flexing his shoulder blades as if to spread out wings that did not exist in a show of dominance. His nostrils flared as he held Wren's gaze, silently daring her to challenge his authority. Wren's lips settled into a half snarl as she dipped her head and spun away from the fight, shadows spreading out like webbing to coat the earth around the two she had been ordered to protect.

Laxus nodded curtly to himself while the dragon rumbled approvingly. Turning, he resumed his trek toward the leader, allowing a noise very similar to his inner-dragon's bass snarl to vibrate from his throat. Tensing his legs, Laxus suddenly launched himself off of the ground into a flying leap, lightning-enhanced foot aimed directly at the leader's head. The man, hearing the crackle of Laxus's electricity, whirled just in time to block the blow with his arms. Laxus kicked off of the man's arms with a low noise of anger, pushing the man back several feet.

Laxus landed on all-fours, using the points of contact to immediately spring away from the man's retaliatory blast of Light Magic. Cana pulled back her wrist to throw a card when Laxus snarled, "Don't interfere! He's mine!"

Laxus barely noticed Cana's startled look before he sprang forward to attack his opponent with a barrage of punches and kicks. His inner-dragon hissed victoriously at each flinch and grunt his blows incited, then snapped imaginary teeth in frustration at being unable to break the man's guard. The leader shoved Laxus away with a shockwave of light and Laxus tasted blood as he accidentally bit his cheek during his landing. The copper taste stung his tongue as he rolled to his feet and his inner-dragon abruptly lunged with more force than it ever had before.

Laxus turned his head briefly to spit out the blood, then felt his lungs expand as he breathed deeply. His lungs hit their normal capacity … then just kept expanding. His opponent lashed out with a bolt of light, giving a triumphant shout at Laxus's apparent inattention.

Just before the beam of light could hit him, Laxus's head snapped up, his mouth opened and his inner-dragon **roared**. Lightning exploded from between his jaws, a solid beam of destruction that split the opposing beam of light like it was nothing. It kept going, plowing through the beam until it collided with Laxus's opponent.

The man went flying with a scream, straight through a row of trees before crashing to the ground. Laxus chased after him, lightning pouring off of his frame as his inner-dragon howled for him to finish the fight. Laxus's opponent was just getting back onto his feet when Laxus caught up to him and kicked him in the head, sending him flying again, " **You-** " The man rolled to a stop and fired off a desperate hail of light beams.

Laxus shifted into his lightning form, the beams passing harmlessly by his body as he plowed on and slammed into his target's midriff, " **Will never-** " The man coughed up a telltale red as Laxus bucked his entire body upwards, the lightning enhanced power of the motion sending the man high into the air. Laxus hunched low to the ground on all fours again, " **Harm anyone-** "

He sprung into the air, all the way up to his still airborne target with a thunderclap of power. Clenching his fists together and -still following the raging instincts of his inner-dragon- raised them high above his head, " **Again!** " His fists crashed down onto the man's back, lightning filling the area with an almost unbearable glow as his blow sent his opponent smashing into the ground with devastating force.

Laxus landed in the crater made by his opponent's abrupt return to earth, lungs heaving as he struggled to rein in his rampant magic. His inner-dragon howled triumph to the sky, but Laxus was unable to share in the feeling. He slid unsteadily into a seated position, mouth wide open as he struggled to breathe, something painful pulsing like a second heartbeat deep inside him. His rage simmered away under exhaustion and an unfamiliar nausea slithered through his stomach.

The sound of his inner-dragon faded until it was its usual bare nudges of instinct and in its place, Laxus's logical side had an epiphany. _Dragon Slayer Magic … I just used the Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic stored in my lacrima. Not … not good._ Laxus swallowed hard, trying to keep from throwing up from the odd swimming feeling invading his skull, _some kind of rebound effect. My body isn't used to channeling the Slayer Magic for combat … like a muscle that's suddenly overworked…_

Familiar chittering sounds to his left drew him out of his thoughts. Bickslow skidded down the crater side to a stop next to him, his hand on Laxus's shoulder suddenly the only thing keeping him from falling over, "Laxus! Laxus!"

Laxus focused on breathing through his nose and ignoring how badly his lungs ached, "I'm fine. The others?"

Bickslow gave Laxus a look that said he knew Laxus was **not** fine but answered, "We're all okay except for minor injuries here and there. But Wren passed out from magic exhaustion after she realized that all of the … men … had been taken out." Laxus wasn't surprised at that last part, he couldn't ever recall her making that many shadows before, let along controlling them all to fight.

"The … kids?" Bickslow winced at his question and rubbed the back of his neck.

Helping Laxus to his feet, Bickslow answered, "Alive. Mest took them and the … jar. Teleported them to Porlyusica-san's house for treatment. He said he'd come back for us in a few minutes."

Laxus nodded dully, then gave a low hiss as the motion cause a stabbing pain across the right side of his face. Bickslow glanced at him, then did a double-take, "Laxus! Your **eye**!"

Laxus cautiously reached up to the right side of his face. His fingers gingerly brushed the wound there, memories of how he had gotten it coming back as the last of his adrenaline left. Pain stabbed him again and he suddenly bent double, heaving. His retching only made the pain worse and he barely had time to register Bickslow shouting for Cana's help before blackness snatched him away.


	27. Chapter 26: Last Pieces Pt2

**Finally! Here's the second (and last) chapter of the Last Pieces Arc. I've had it prewritten for a while now but it still needed to be edited and I've been busy. Still haven't finished the next one though, or the one-shot, so don't expect to hear from me for a while. Sorry. I hope you all enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Review Response: Dear Guest, greetings! (cracks up laughing for several minutes, finally stops) As hilarious as the comparison is, no. The (dubious) honor of being the Lucy counterpart of the team actually goes to Mest. Lucy and Mest both try their hardest to keep the other team members from fighting (and usually fail), both are both the last bastion of common sense on their team (not counting Wren, who is becoming increasingly corrupted by Fairy Tail Luck and Logic) and both tried vainly to NOT be a part of the crazy that is their team before giving up and going along with it all. Laxus as a damsel in distress is a** **hysterical mental image though.**

 **Dear snowleopard314, hello there! Glad you liked it! I actually meant to delay their arrival a bit more, but then the chapter kinda wrote itself and I figured "why not?". You do? Good, I was afraid that my readers would find it annoying, but it makes sense to me. I want her to use it more often as well, but you have to understand that its practical applications are very limited at the moment unless Wren becomes willing to commit homicide. A black hole isn't exactly an environment friendly magic after all. No problem, I hope you enjoy this one as well!**

 **Dear geekycutecupcake, hello! I really happy to hear that! Enjoy the newest update!**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hey there! Glad you liked the backstory for Laxus's scar and the fight! Ah, that question requires us to dive into my personal head-canons about the Fairy Tail world and its inner workings (though honestly I swear this might be actually canon, just unaddressed and easily missed). To answer you questions, Laxus does not always use Dragon Slayer Magic, in fact, even in the anime, he mostly doesn't. What Laxus uses most of the time in regular Lightning Magic. You can tell because when he gives the name of the spell, he hardly ever says "Lightning Dragon's Insert Name Here" or "Secret Art Insert Name Here". If you rematch Fairy Tail sometime, pay close attention to when Natsu, Gajeel, or Wendy use their Dragon spells and you'll notice that Fire Dragon/Iron Dragon/Sky Dragon ALWAYS proceeds the name of the spell. With a lot of Laxus's spells in the anime, you don't see that. Therefore, he usually uses regular Lightning Magic and saves his Dragon Slayer Lacrima for harder opponents/when he's really ticked off. Cobra does the same thing in the Nirvana Arc BTW. Now, as for its non-combat use, I remember hearing somewhere (it's also canon in my story, reread the chapter Her Boys for confirmation) that the reason Laxus's dad implanted Laxus with a Dragon Slayer Lacrima is because Laxus was really sickly/weak as a child. So that means that the Lacrima's magic was originally meant to boost his immune system and healing factor, not be channeled for combat. This is why Makarov was so angry when he heard that Laxus had used Dragon Slayer Magic and why Laxus kept his training of it a secret from Makarov for years, because of how dangerous to his health it would be if the Lacrima ran out (like, completely out, not just low) of magic. Make sense?**

 **Dear YumiKnowsBest, hi there! Read on to see what happens to Freed's eye situation! Yeah, I was kinda surprised when the idea came to me, but I wanted them to have a pre-existing relationship before the Raijinshū and they just don't look similar enough to be actual blood siblings. You'll have to wait and see for information on those theories. I DID put a gore warning up in the Author's Note of that chapter, so you were warned. Glad you liked it anyway though! Still working on the one-shot, I'll get there eventually.**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! Thrilled to hear it!**

 **Dear Keelan1210, hello there! Really? Because I always just automatically assumed they did, even in the anime. I mean, it would explain some of their quirkier habits and I can't really see them being able to use their dragon-senses effectively if they didn't have at least some instincts to back it up. But that's just my opinion. I'm a big fan of Pack!Mentality stuff, so you can expect to see more of that pop up here and there as the story goes on.**

 **Dear Yatocat19, hi there! Happy to please! I hope to include some "silly things" in an upcoming chapter soon, but we'll see. If not silly things, then definitely beating up bad guys. Thanks! Enjoy your day as well!**

 **Dear Guest, hi! It's cool, I'm just happy to have the review now. They do indeed, it goes with the Fairy Tail Luck. Glad you liked it, I had way too much fun writing that scene. All very good points, but since Wren is mentally the oldest, she doesn't see it that way. I know right? It's like her survival mechanism to sass instead of panic. I'm thinking they'll stay as a sub-guild, but we'll see how it goes farther down the line. Yes! I was wondering if anyone would catch that reference! Nice work.**

 **Dear Guest (from before?) hi! (chuckles) I know right? Can't you just see Natsu and Gray freaking out over a lack of chaos on their jobs while Lucy wonders why they can't enjoy it? Until absolute pandemonium breaks out to make up for the peaceful stretch and she develops the same nervous twitch whenever explosions don't happen within the span of a few days. Glad you enjoyed it! There was literally nothing about their past on the wiki, so I decided to go a bit crazy on how they joined and why they're so loyal to Laxus. Magic Hunters are something of their own breed, even Dark Guilds fear them because of risk of being hunted for their rarer magics. It will make Makarov more worried, but it's also why he's encouraged them to all be a team, the more of them there are, the less chance there is that Magic Hunters will risk coming after them. Magic Hunters are like real-life predators in the sense that they don't like to go after strong groups but instead pick off unaffiliated stragglers. Let's hope indeed, but one never knows what my muses will decide to do (evil laughter in the background, author rolls eyes).**

 **Dear powerrangersfan364, hey there! So glad to hear it! Oh it would have been a LOT harder. (sorta-spoilers) the original fight would have just been Laxus, and Evergreen when she got desperate enough to help fight for their survival.**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! I'm thrilled you enjoy it, I hope you like the newest update too!**

 **Dear Ori Heartlyng, hi there! I'll take it the chapter was exciting enough? (good choice of favorite characters, you have good taste).**

 **Dear SoLaRSpaZZ, hello there! Uh ... the next major timeskip won't be for a WHILE. I still have to show some Raijinshū bonding, deal with Ivan's eventual return/banishment, Gray's arrival, Erza's arrival, Natsu's arrival, a few more AU-ish things that have cropped up in my plot notes... While I won't be covering EVERYTHING in between those events, I do want to cover them specifically. So, I hope you enjoy really long stories, because this one is going to be a long haul. Yes, this is ten years before canon and canon will still officially start on July 4 X784, just like in the series. So be prepared for a long wait. If you've seen my Transformers story, then you'll know what I mean, all those words and I'm STILL not on Earth. I cannot answer those last three questions as they would involve giving spoilers, sorry. You'll just have to be patient and see. I'm glad you like it so much and I hope you find this new chapter enjoyable!**

 **Author's Note: So, basically just a tying-up-loose-ends chapter, but I hope you all enjoy the fluff that is included. For any Transformers readers who might be lurking around here, I'm still working on both the next chapter and the one-shot, but the next chapter is going to take a while (since you all like longer chapters) and I'm a wee bit stuck on the one-shot. So updates will probably be delayed for a while. The same goes for this story actually, as I've run out of prewritten stuff. Thank you for your patience and enjoy the newest chapter!**

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 **Chapter Twenty-Six: Last Pieces Pt 2**

 **(Six months, one week, three days since joining guild)**

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Freed whimpered faintly as he slid back toward consciousness from an ocean of black, troubled dreams. He whimpered again and twitched, trying to convince his eyes to open and his memories to return even as the nightmares tried to tug him down again. There was a rustling from somewhere on his right and a slightly hoarse voice asked, "Finally waking up?"

The sound of the voice jarred Freed from his halfway state and he sat up sharply, right eye snapping open in alarm. He looked around wildly, panic squeezing his lungs as he failed to recognize his surroundings and realized that he couldn't open his left eye. A memory zipped through his mind and Freed clutched at the left side of his face with a cry, expecting to feel the indented eyelid because there was nothing there anymore they-had-ripped-it-out-

His fingers pressed against the thick bandage and he felt something twitch underneath in response. _… What…?_ His fingers rubbed the bandage in confusion for several seconds before he looked around at his surroundings again and the rest of his memories came back, "Where…?" Freed paused to swallow, trying to soothe his dry throat, "Where am I?"

The voice that had woken him up answered, "This is Porlyusica-san's house. She's Fairy Tail's personal healer, even if she's really crabby about it." Freed looked over sharply in the direction of the voice, then went stiff in astonishment. The strange blond boy who had saved his and Evergreen's life lay on a cot next to him, propped up on the pillows and smothered in half a dozen blankets that had been shoved down to pool around his waist.

"…You." The word was the only thing Freed could think to say. Or perhaps, it was more like the only thing that managed to escape the confused clamor in his head and slip out of his mouth. A thousand questions rolled around in his mind, but couldn't untangle themselves enough for him to ask any of them.

The other boy didn't seem to notice Freed's mental conflict, he simply raised a hand in greeting, "Yo. You had us worried for a while there. Porlyusica-san had to keep you sedated for … a week now I think, in order to safely fix you. She said you'd be fine though." The boy lolled his head to one side to stare out one of the small windows in the room as he added, "Your sister was here just a few minutes ago. Porlyusica-san dragged her off to help gather some more plants and things since she insisted on sticking around. They'll be back soon."

Freed tried to process everything the boy had said on top of his last, pain-hazed memories. _So … we're safe? But…_ "Who … who are you? Why did you…?"

The boy blinked at him and Freed jolted a bit as he finally noticed the jagged lightning-bolt scar running down the right side of his face from just above his eyebrow down almost to his jawline, _when did he-? He didn't have that earlier, did he?_ The boy, unaware of Freed's newest confusion, replied, "Oh, right. You wouldn't know. I'm Laxus. Laxus Dreyar of Fairy Tail. As for why we saved you," the boy's face when murderously dark, "two of my best friends have eye magic just like you. Even if they **didn't** , there was no way I'd let that scum get away with what they did to you."

Freed stared at Laxus, memories of just how fiercely, how rabidly the other boy had attacked the monsters who had hurt him flickering through his mind. How Laxus had saved him from the man who had grabbed him and saved Evergreen from the monster's kicks. Then something else clicked and Freed gasped, "You're eye!"

Laxus blinked again, unintentionally showcasing the scar, "Hmm? **My** eye? What about it?"

Freed twisted his blanket in his hands, "You- because of us! Are you alright?"

Realization flashed through Laxus's eyes and he rubbed the part of his scar that was on his cheek, "What, this? It's fine. It wouldn't have even scarred if it hadn't been a flame-type magic knife and my healing factor wasn't so fast. The injury cauterized and then my healing factor had already turned it into a scar by the time we got to Porlyusica-san's. But my eye is fine, no harm done to it. Not that I would have cared either way. Better my face than your other eye."

Freed flinched at the mention of what had happened to his left eye and Laxus's face twisted apologetically, "I … probably shouldn't have said that. Sorry."

Freed stared at Laxus in surprise then shook his head, "No, no … you … you **saved me**. Saved my sister. You have nothing to be sorry for!" He shifted his gaze over Laxus's form, then froze when he felt something twitch under his bandages again. His fingers shot up to the left side of his face in alarm, "What-?"

The door to the small house opened just as he touched the bandages and an elderly voice snapped, "Don't touch those boy. I'm not redoing an entire week's worth of surgery just because you decided to fiddle with things you shouldn't. Stupid child."

Freed flinched at the strange woman's harsh tone but was soon distracted by Evergreen barreling into him with a sobbing cry of joy, "Freed! You woke up! You're okay!"

Freed grunted at the impact, automatically wrapping his arms around Evergreen's shoulders despite his surprise, "Ever!"

The pink-haired woman clicked her tongue as she set down two baskets filled with various plants and then turned to face the beds, "Well? How do you feel? Nauseous? Migraine? Dizzy spells? Double vision?" Freed froze under the rapid and curt questions, instinctively throwing a panicked look in the direction of the boy who had saved his life. Laxus gave him a sympathetic look and mouthed, "it's fine".

With that slight encouragement and Evergreen bristling protectively at his side, Freed managed to get through the woman's rapid interrogation on how he felt, when he had woken up, if he was hungry or thirsty, and if he had been stupid enough to get out of bed.

After Freed had shyly answered all of the questions, the woman -who Freed assumed was the Porlyusica-san Laxus had mentioned earlier- huffed, "Well. You're a cooperative patient if nothing else. Listen up, boy. Don't take off those bandages for another two weeks, understand? I managed to rebuild the pathways that connect your eye to your brain, but that new eye of yours will be very sensitive to any disturbances. Especially light. After two weeks, come back here and I'll check everything and give you further instructions on how to care for your new eye."

Freed sputtered in disbelief, "N-new eye? What do you mean **new eye**?"

Evergreen piped up, "She's amazing, Freed! She- she **made** you a new eye. I've never seen anything like it!"

Freed continued to sputter, "But- a new eye?"

Porlyusica-san seemed to take it the wrong way, "Unfortunately, your old eye was too badly contaminated. Too much dirt and degradation to be safely repaired and returned." She hesitated and for the first time since she had walked through the door, her tone softened, "I'm sorry. But a new, artificial eye is the best I can do. It will not be able to channel your eye magic, artificial eyes are not magically conductive. You'll have to learn to use your powers with only one eye as a medium."

Freed flinched at the knowledge that she knew he had eye magic, even as his mind reeled with the information he had just been given. Porlyusica-san huffed softly at his flinch before turning her sharp gaze to Laxus, "And you. Make sure to stay out of trouble until your lacrima fully regenerates. **Don't** go on any more jobs for at least two weeks. I expect you to keep these two," she motioned toward Freed and Evergreen, "out of trouble. Make sure the boy eats, he's underweight. Don't let him shirk on his vegetables and meats."

Laxus nodded seriously and Freed finally found his voice, "Keep us out of trouble? Does that mean…?"

The blond shifted his attention to Freed, "You'll be staying with me and my _Raijinshū_ until your healed. Or … longer, if you want."

Evergreen sat up sharply at that, both she and Freed staring at Laxus in a mix of shock and hope, "Longer?"

Laxus rubbed at his scar again until Porlyusica hissed warningly at him, "Yeah. I talked it over with _Jiji_ when he came to visit. He says if you want to, you can both join Fairy Tail. I talked it over with the rest of the _Raijinshū_ too, and they said they'd be happy to have you join us. If you don't, _Jiji_ said he could arrange things with the local orphanage instead…"

Freed felt tears well up in his un-bandaged eye. This boy, this strange, powerful boy with magic unlike anything Freed had ever seen had not only saved them from the men who had tried to steal their eyes, but now was offering them a place at his side? A new home with him and the other children who had rescued them? "Why?" Freed whispered softly, "Why would you go to so much trouble for us? You don't even know us."

Laxus shrugged, "It's … there's really nothing to explain. I didn't really have a reason except that … no one should have to go through that. You- what those men were doing was wrong. And yeah, I guess when I saw that I kept imagining what it would be like if it was Bickslow or Wren going through that and it made me even angrier but really … I stopped them because I knew someone should. Because you were hurt and needed help."

"As for not even knowing you…" Grey eyes locked with first Freed's, then Evergreen's without flinching, "There's a first step to everything, isn't there? Well, this is mine." He slid off of the cot, ignoring Porlyusica-san's growl of warning, and held out a hand to the step-siblings, "But only if you **want** to take it with me."

Something swelled in Freed's chest, powerful and permanent as he stared at the patient figure holding out his hand, waiting for their answer even though he had more than enough power to force them into complying. The boy who had been the first to rush to their aid just because he saw they needed it, the boy who was offering them, two strangers, home and healing. Offering them a place at his side.

In that moment, Freed wanted. More than anything else he had ever wanted in the world, he wanted to stand at the side of this boy. He wanted to be there when Laxus shook the world -which he would someday, Freed could feel it- and he wanted to help in any way he could.

He remembered how, even in his agony, he had seen the seamlessness of Laxus and his _Raijinshū_ as they fought together and he wanted to be a part of that. He wanted to follow this boy, this … savior, to the ends of Earthland and back.

Dimly, he recalled swearing to do just that while watching Laxus and his allies fight on their behalf even in the midst of his pain. Now, with a clear mind and a tear-clouded eye, Freed mentally renewed his vow as he reached out and clasped the outstretched hand. Evergreen reached out a half-second later, her slender fingers curling over his as Freed choked out, "It would be an honor, Laxus-sama!"

Laxus's ears pinked faintly at the honorific and he grumbled out something about them not needing to be so formal, but Freed and Evergreen both stubbornly stuck to the honorific as they continued to speak to him, raptly listening to everything their new leader had to say while Porlyusica-san rolled her eyes knowingly in the background.

 **.**

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Rihanna watched from the doorway of Porlyusica's house as Laxus welcomed two more members into his tribe and both of the child versions of Freed and Evergreen strove vainly not to cry. Beside her, Bickslow grumbled softly, though there was no bite to his words and a decidedly curious look in his eyes at the prospect of having other eye magic users to talk to. Cana was cooing over the clear hero-worship in the eyes of their two newest members while Mest just sighed over the inevitable increase in Fairy Tail Luck that was to come.

Rihanna didn't say anything. She was too busy trying to memorize the moment that, unbeknownst to anyone else, was so pivotal to the future of Fairy Tail. She had been worried for so long that her presence had somehow prevented Freed and Evergreen from joining the _Raijinshū_. That hers, Cana's, and Mest's inclusions to the _Raijinshū's_ membership roster had somehow changed the timeline too much for Freed and Evergreen to join Fairy Tail at all.

But right here, right now, Rihanna just knew somehow that **this** was how Laxus had met them in the first place. He may not have had the _Raijinshū_ yet in the original timeline -he certainly hadn't had herself, Cana, and Mest with him- but **this** was the moment. This was the reason they were so undyingly loyal to Laxus, even over Fairy Tail as a whole. He had saved them from a fate worse than death, he had given them hope, and then he had offered them a home.

Something eased in Rihanna's chest as she watched the others finally enter Porlyusica's house to introduce themselves to their newest members and she felt herself smile. At long last, the last pieces of the puzzle were in place, the lost members she had been afraid would never come had arrived. Even if the way they'd been found was horrible and regrettable, she couldn't bring herself to feel anything but happy at that moment.

Because she could feel, deep into her very core, that the _Raijinshū_ was finally whole.

Laxus spotted her hovering in the doorway and, ignoring Porlyusica's half-hearted protests about so many humans in her home, waved Rihanna in, "Wren, come meet Evergreen and Freed. Evergreen, Freed, this is Wren."

Freed shifted on the bed a bit, he looked a touch nervous at all of the attention, "Ah, hello Wren-chan. Laxus-sama and the others saved my step-sister and I from some really bad men, so I hope you don't mind that we are staying with Laxus-sama now." Rihanna raised an eyebrow at how he worded his statement.

Bickslow snorted, "She knows. She was there."

Evergreen's eyes went round behind her new glasses, " **Eh**? Where? Was she waiting in the tree line?"

Rihanna sighed silently and reached out a hand, calling up a few tendrils of shadow to wrap around her arm and weave around her hand like small snakes. Both Freed's and Evergreen's jaws went slack before Evergreen sputtered, "That was **you**? I thought Laxus-sama had a pet **demon** or something!"

 _Excuse me? I do_ ** _not_** _look like a demon! I don't even look scary! … Do I?_ She shot a questioning look at Bickslow, but he was laughing too hard to answer her. Mest gave a weak chuckle as he patted Rihanna's head, "Wren-chan **can** look pretty scary when she's angry, but I promise, she isn't a demon of any kind." _What do you mean 'pretty scary'? I'm physically six! How in the name of Pantherlily is a six-year-old 'pretty scary'?_

Evergreen sounded genuinely curious as she asked, "So … she didn't eat the souls of those men earlier?"

Rihanna gave a silent squawk of indignation. Because as much as she liked people taking her seriously, and as much as she practiced her Look in order to keep Bickslow and Cana in line, being considered a **demonic soul-eater** was definitely not what she'd been going for.

She half-expected Bickslow to leap to her defense, but instead the boy was too busy rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. Cana was muffling a laugh behind her hand while Laxus looked far more amused than Rihanna believed the situation warranted. Even Mest was chuckling softly.

Mest finally saw fit to reassure Evergreen and Freed, "No. She didn't eat their souls. She just used her shadows to knock them out and hide them in the tree line to scare the rest of them."

Freed looked far too skeptical for Rihanna's liking, "So … she won't drag us off to the depths of the underworld if we displease Laxus-sama?"

Bickslow gave a hooting wheeze from the floor and Cana sniggered before saying, "Well…"

Rihanna's head snapped around and she narrowed her eyes into The Look. _You are Not. Helping._ Cana's mouth snapped shut reflexively and on the floor Bickslow immediately swallowed the rest of his laughter. She continued to glare at them for several more seconds before she turned to face Evergreen and Freed.

Who now looked absolutely terrified of her.

Mest leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I think you just made things worse for yourself, Wren-chan." Rihanna shot Mest a despairing look which caused Laxus to finally lose his composure and start laughing.

Rihanna gave in to the childish urge to stomp her foot. She was **not** that scary and Freed's and Evergreen's terror of her was not that funny!

A pity the rest of the _Raijinshū_ didn't seem to agree on that last part.

For the moment, the bone-deep relief that she hadn't somehow erased Freed's and Evergreen's existence as _Raijinshū_ was set aside in favor of frustration over the misunderstandings the two newest members had about her and the others' stubborn refusal to help clear up the matter. Then Porlyusica-san got sick of their noise and shooed them out of her house with a broom and dire warnings to go home, rest, and keep Freed from doing anything stupid with his new eye.

Later though, when they had all returned to the lighthouse, figured out how to fit two more people into a house already overcrowded with five people -Mest being coaxed into staying over-, and the others had fallen asleep, the relieved elation came flooding back. Rihanna slipped out of bed and up to the top floor of the lighthouse, a small flashlight clamped between her teeth and a leather book with a lock on it in one hand. Settling down with her back against the glass and the moon to give her extra light, she pressed her hand against the lock, pushing some of her magic into it to unlock the book.

It was a gift Laxus had given her about a month ago. Explaining to her that the lock could be keyed to her magic signature and hers alone. That way, once she knew how to write, she could write down everything she remembered from her "future visions" in safety. He had also promised to teach her how to use requip magic to store the book -a solution so ridiculously obvious yet secure she wondered how she hadn't thought of it earlier- but so far the learning of requip magic had been slow and hard.

Of course, unbeknownst to Laxus, Rihanna already knew how to write, and so had spent several nights over the past month scribbling down every last detail she could remember of the anime -and later the manga- storyline. She had organized everything according to the arcs, with special sections set aside for what she remembered about the various characters. The anime-only arcs she had written down as well, but she had put a question mark on their title pages because she wasn't certain if they would hold true for the universe she was in now.

She had also, after some debate, made a checklist of everything she could think of as vital to the wellbeing of Fairy Tail and the progression of the "plot" as she knew it. With a wave of relieved triumph, Rihanna carefully made a checkmark next to the item at the top of her "important pre-plot events" list.

Freed and Evergreen join the _Raijinshū_ : check.

Rihanna closed the book and locked it again before leaning back to rest her head against the glass with a low sigh. Her thoughts wandered, alternately worried and relieved as she considered all the things that had changed because of her presence, and all the things that had stayed the same. Gradually, her thoughts drifted off and her eyes slid shut as exhaustion pulled her down to dreamland.

 **.**

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That was the position in which Laxus found her hours later, as he made a restless patrol through the crowded lighthouse. His dragon instincts had woken him up, driving him to check on all of his "Treasures" both old and new after finally being allowed to go home. He stared for a moment at the tiny figure curled up against the glass, the moon casting an ethereal glow on her and her fingers still clutching a locked book.

He suppressed the low rumble of concern that tried to rise in his chest -his dragon instincts had gotten a lot louder ever since his active use of Dragon Slayer magic-, and instead moved to gingerly pick up the smallest of his Treasures. She curled against his chest subconsciously and Laxus couldn't stop the faint purr-like hum that rose in his chest.

He knew she was already using the book he had given her. He didn't know how, exactly, since she couldn't write yet, but that was her business. He did wonder what had happened to make her stay up so late to write in it tonight though. He paused as he recalled his two newest _Raijinshū_. _Oh. That must be why. So that means … she knew they would be joining?_ Laxus shook his head as he somehow managed to maneuver his way down the ladder with Wren in his arms. He had promised not to pry into the images her hereditary magic had shown her, no matter how curious he was.

As he laid her down on her bed, a thought suddenly occurred to him. If she had known Freed and Evergreen would join the _Raijinshū_ , then did that mean she'd known how? That she'd had pictures of that horrible moment when Freed lost his eye in her head since she was **three**? He bared his teeth silently, angry at both the memory of that moment and the thought that his littlest _Raijinshū_ had had something that gruesome branded in her mind by a magic she could not control. A magic that no one could teach her to control because anyone else was dead.

His anger bled out of him just as quickly as it came. There was nothing he could do about either of those things, and anger would just risk waking up his Treasures. Wren stirred slightly on the bed, a frown tugging at her features and her breath hitching in a way that would have made a whimpering sound had she still had a voice.

Laxus immediately laid a hand on her head, fingers carding gently through her curls. His inner-dragon gave a low croon, its usual wariness of Wren gone in favor of comforting his littlest. Wren shifted again, fingers twitching faintly, and Laxus combed through her hair again and whispered low, "Easy, _Imōto_. Easy…" Perhaps it was the sound of his voice, perhaps it was his touch, perhaps whatever was troubling her thoughts left on its own. Whatever it was, Wren's features relaxed and softened as she slipped away into better dreams.

Laxus removed his hand, but he still lingered there for a while, pondering his littlest. He glanced at the book again and flared his nostrils in a silent huff, _she shouldn't have to worry about stuff like that._ Still, there was nothing he could do to change it. He could only do what he could to help her manage it, and make sure he was there to watch her back when some future trouble finally came calling.

His inner-dragon prodded demandingly and Laxus petted Wren's hair one more time with a low whisper of, " _Oyasumi_ , _Imōto_ ," before he slipped off to check on the rest of his Treasures one more time before getting some sleep himself.

He frowned a bit to himself as he checked on Bickslow snoring on a futon on the floor and Cana in the next bed over before he padded down the stairs. _Shouldn't think of them as treasures. They aren't objects. It would cause misunderstandings._ His inner-dragon gave a brief snarl at that. Treasures were Treasures. It didn't matter if they were alive or not, they were **his** and he would guard them while they rested.

Laxus gave up trying to reason with his inner-dragon. It wasn't going to be changing anytime soon and he'd heard somewhere that losing arguments with oneself was worse than having arguments in the first place. If he didn't start any arguments, he wouldn't lose any.

Even if the night patrol instinct was kind of annoying and he was hoping it wouldn't become a habit.

His inner-dragon poked him sternly, _Treasure. Protect. Guard. Check._ Laxus rolled his eyes as he peaked into the living room where Mest was sprawled over the couch before moving on to what used to be his room but had been given over to Freed and Evergreen. _Yeah, yeah. Protect, guard, and check. I got it the first twenty times._ He cracked open the door to the room, carefully scanning it and its occupants for any sign of danger or distress before coming to the conclusion that everything was fine.

Finally, his inner-dragon settled down, and with a low noise of relief, Laxus moved back to his futon in the living room to go back to sleep.

Secretly though, despite his inner complaints about it, Laxus found himself waking up and doing it again the next night, and the night after that. Always checking on every member of his _Raijinshū_ before finally going back to sleep himself.

They were his after all. And nothing was going to harm them in their sleep if he could help it.

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 **Japanese Translations: Oyasumi - informal version of Good Night. Essentially, "Night" or even "Sleep Tight".**


	28. Chapter 27: First Taste

**I return! Thank you all for your patience, Freed's POV is astoundingly hard to write... Oh! Important announcement in the Author's Note, so make sure to read it please!**

 **Review Response: Dear Keelan1210, greetings! I can see Laxus to Inner-Dragon arguments leading to more fluff, yes. So glad you approve!**

 **Dear Ice-Snow Witch, hello there! Yep. He's just too adorable sometimes.**

 **Dear Lightsbane1905, hey there! Not sure actually, but it should be interesting if nothing else. Huh, I kinda like it too. I have a few different ones in mind though.**

 **Dear TheHolyBlade, hello! (snickers) Who says she has to grow up before she gets to be the scary sister?**

 **Dear Guest, hi there! (gives sage Yoda blink) ... So sure are you, that his mate she is?**

 **Dear Pixie, hi! Yep, pretty much. Though, it will probably be more up to Mest, as he's the one who actually cares about stuff like collateral and property damage. Thank you, I try my best. That section of timeline is going to be ... interesting when we get there. (Laughs) Got it in one! Glad you liked that part, my muses kinda surprised me with it.**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! It is too bad, but it's my explanation for why Freed only has an eye magic in one eye when every other eye-magic example I can think of in the anime has them using both. That too, though I get the impression that Porlyusica doesn't really NEED extra practice when it comes to fixing/replacing various Fairy Tail injuries. Not the best first impression, eh? (chuckles) Wren won't be shaking that reputation soon either if she starts revenge pranking the others before Freed and Evergreen stop being afraid of her. Well, dragons are traditionally known to be possessive, and since Laxus isn't the type to collect trinkets, I figured the instinct would transfer over to what he does collect: strays. Hmm, that's actually a good idea. Thank you for the suggestion. It will be a long time (if ever) that they see what's inside the diary though.**

 **Dear BizzylizyOffline, hello! It's fine, I understand how the craziness of life gets in the way of things. Glad you liked it! The inner-dragon will be making more appearances in the future I'm sure, it's just too much fun to write Laxus arguing with it to leave it out!**

 **Dear Ori Heartlyng, hi! Aww... you're gonna make me blush... Well, at least if Laxus does argue with his inner-dragon again, he doesn't have to worry about anything worse than a headache.**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, greetings! Pretty sure I answered the first question in the PM I sent the other day. As for your other question, no, I have no plans for Wren to gain an actual prophecy/divination magic. That would make her way to O.P. for my tastes. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Dear KyraReid, hello there! Wow ... I ... wow. I'm not sure anyone else has pulled an all-nighter to read one of my stories before. I'm honored you liked it that much! Yes, Laxus is adorable. Pity he doesn't get more screen time in the show...**

 **Dear marmalade-snow, hey there! Happy to hear it! Now there's something you don't read everyday, dragon instincts being cute. Though in Laxus, they are indeed. They'll fit in eventually, and I simply couldn't think of a way to introduce them gradually in a way that would make them so intensely loyal to Laxus over Fairy Tail. Glad you enjoyed it and hope you like the update!**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! Glad to hear it! Oh, those two should be lots of fun to write when they show up. If you want to get a preview of them, check out my Author's Note before you read the chapter. (Grins) Maybe... All I can confirm is that his tag is up there for a reason. You just won't see if for a while. As for Wren's 'ice magic' that's actually a side-effect of her Black Hole. Space is cold after all. Enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Dear Guest, hello there! I'm glad you like it so much! However, I will warn you now that there are not going to be any fraxus moments in this story unless you count platonic bromance and Freed being a fanboy. Besides, I have separate pairings in mind for those two when they grow up... Hope you continue to like it anyway!**

 **Dear Guest, hey there! Technically, he was busy fighting thugs in an entirely different area, so it isn't so much that he was useless as he was busy.**

 **Dear Guest, hello! I keep saying this, but you all should really, REALLY wait until all of the cast is introduced before you start throwing around pairings and shipping names. Seriously. Besides, not to bust any bubbles, but Laxus DID call Wren Imōto (little sister) in that last scene...**

 **Dear girlgonerouge, greetings! Glad to hear it!**

 **Dear BlackDove WhiteDove, hi there! First off, I have to say that being able to read your reactions almost per chapter made my day. Though, it does make it kinda hard to respond... Well, I'll just say that I'm glad the chapters have entertained and pleased you so much! I hope you enjoy this newest one as well!**

 **Dear Anonymus, greetings! I'll be posting today, actually! It just takes me a while to finish and edit these since you all enjoy having the longer chapters and I DO have a life to deal with. Glad you liked it and enjoy the newest update!**

 **Author's Note: Hey there everyone! So, a big announcement I'm happy to make is: I FINALLY posted a one-shot collection for this story! It's called Amongst Untrodden Ways: Detours and if you want to get a sneak peak of Fairy Tail ten years into Wren's future, go take a look! Like with Harmonies, Detours will only be updated as inspiration and time allow, but hey, it's finally up like I promised! For Transformers and Ballad fans out there, please be patient for a while longer, I'm working on it. Both chapters require several different POVs and are on the long side and Real Life has been knocking and ... yeah. But I'm still working on them. Finally, kudos to anyone who can spot the two references I made to other fandoms in this chapter! I think that's everything, so I won't keep you guys any longer. Enjoy!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs who have run off with my plot.**

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 **Chapter Twenty-Seven: First Taste**

 **(Six months, two weeks, six days since joining the guild)**

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Freed froze instinctively as he was about to enter the living room of Laxus-sama's -the entire _Raijinshū's_ really- house. Hastily, Freed plastered himself against the wall, trying to remain hidden as he peaked into the room.

There was a stranger in the house.

A moment later he spotted Wren-sama sitting next to the stranger with a look of intense concentration on her face and concluded that the stranger was not any kind of thief or intruder, but was instead a guest.

Freed hesitated, wondering what to do now. On the one hand, it would be very rude and against the Rules of Etiquette to stand there eavesdropping. On the other, entering the room uninvited would interrupt whatever Wren-sama and her guest were doing, which would also risk breaking the Rules of Etiquette.

On the first hand, he did need to get inside because his training break was limited and he really needed a glass of water before going back outside to practice his Rune Magic with Laxus-sama. On the other hand yet again, interacting with Wren-sama and trying to figure out her Rules without breaking them and angering her was nerve-wracking enough. He really, really didn't want to have to learn the Rules of a stranger just yet.

Before he could make up his mind, Bickslow-san caught up to him and lightly shoved him through the door with a blunt, "What are you just standing there for? Laxus isn't going to extend your break just because you're new." Freed sputtered, trying to halt his momentum even as it carried him into view of Wren-sama and her guest, attracting their attention in an instant.

"Oh, hello there," chirped the small bluenette girl who was Wren-sama's guest, "I remember you. You're one of the two new members Laxus-kun brought in, right?"

Bickslow-san patted Freed on the shoulder as he answered for him, "Yep. This is Freed Justine. He's one of the two newest members of the _Raijinshū_. Freed, this is Levy-chan, she's a fellow Fairy Tail member and Wren's tutor in reading and writing."

Freed bowed at the waist automatically even as he scrambled to classify which Rules of Respect were required for Levy-san, "A-an honor to make your acquaintance, Levy-san."

Levy-san's cheeks gained a small red tint, " _A-ano_ , an honor to make your acquaintance as well, Freed-san, welcome to Fairy Tail."

Freed straightened from his bow, but dipped his head again in acknowledgement of her words, "Thank you, I will try to live up Fairy Tail's prestigious name."

Bickslow-san, who had slipped past Freed at some point during the introductions, returned with two glasses of water. Bickslow-san handed one to Freed and waved off the latter's polite "thank you", as he asked the two girls, "How's the lesson coming along?"

Wren-sama made a face but Levy-san perked up a bit, "Really well, actually! Wren-chan is very smart! We've got the rest of the hiragana alphabet finally memorized. We practiced the kanji for her name, and she's only written her sentences backwards three times today!"

Freed felt like an intruder to the conversation as he sipped his water, but he had yet to be dismissed and his curiosity was roused. From what he had seen of Wren-sama over the past week and six days, she was scarily competent for a six-year-old. Or just plain scary in some cases. She was able to keep Laxus-sama's large -and rowdy- group in check with a mere Look, had designed an entirely new language of hand-signs and whistles to compensate for her muteness, and her magic ability and power was incredible.

He would have thought someone like Wren-sama would be a prodigy at a simple activity such as reading and writing. The thought of someone as smart as Wren-sama accidentally writing her sentences backwards -more than once- was both baffling and quietly amusing to think about.

Freed kept his thoughts to himself, he doubted that someone as new to the _Raijinshū_ as he would be allowed to tease or probe further. He'd only been part of Laxus-sama's tribe for a little under two weeks now after all.

Bickslow-san carelessly set down his empty water glass and moved around the small coffee table to ruffle Wren-sama's hair, "Great work _Imōto_! At this rate you'll be reading actual books in no time!"

Wren-sama smiled at Bickslow-san's words, but Freed thought he detected a hint of annoyance, probably from the hair-ruffling. Nudging his hand off of her hair, Wren-sama gave a small flurry of whistles and then pointed at Freed. Freed stiffened, wondering if he'd done something wrong, when Bickslow-san shrugged a shoulder, "He's been doing pretty good. Laxus has him on a really light routine because of his messed-up depth perception and not wanting to risk him getting another injury. Still, his Rune magic is cool and he's not half-bad at physical exercise."

Wren-sama tilted her head as she gave a quick hand-sign. Bickslow gave a bark of laughter, "Ever? She's doing extra laps around the training field for breaking the 'no magic rule' during her spar. Laxus was not happy about that."

Freed mentally cringed. He knew Evergreen just wanted to prove herself to Laxus-sama, but she was nowhere near as conscious of, or careful to maintain, the Rules. Plus, she had quite a temper, especially once she got competitive, which she did around Cana-san. The two of them just seemed incapable of getting along and Bickslow-san had a habit of making it worse whenever he got involved.

Wren-sama rolled her eyes at Bickslow-san's report, then flashed series of hand-signs and looked questioningly at Levy-san. Bickslow-san, as usual, stepped up as a translator, "Wren want's to know if there's anything else you planned on covering today."

Levy-san shook her head, "Not really, we did a lot of practice and Wren-chan made good progress. Besides, I have a mission today, so I should probably get ready for that."

Bickslow-san smiled, "Great! Now you can join us for the remainder of training, _Imōto_." Wren-sama nodded in agreement, already helping Levy-san to pack up the books and paper they had been using while Freed just watched on with a helpless, unsure expression.

 _Am I supposed to help them clean up from the lesson? It would be polite, but I was not involved in the lesson, nor do I know Levy-san that well and it might be seen like an intrusion. Then again, a good host would help a guest … but do I count as the host in this matter? Or does Wren-sama count as the only host? She is my_ senpai _in the_ Raijinshū _, so shouldn't I help? But then, she has not asked for assistance and she might consider it an unwelcome disturbance…_

A light slap on his shoulder broke Freed out of his agonizing thoughts over which Rules he needed to be following, "Oi, you finished with your water? 'Cause Laxus will be waiting for us to come back."

Freed jolted a bit and looked down at his glass. He was vaguely surprised to see that he had finished it at some point. He glanced back up at Bickslow-san, "A-ah, yes, I finished."

Bickslow-san nodded, "Good. Dump the glasses in the sink and then we'll go see if Ever managed to complete those laps."

By the time Freed had deposited the two glasses in the kitchen sink and circled back to the front door, Levy-san had left and both Wren-sama and Bickslow-san were waiting for him in the foyer. Freed dipped his head, "Pardon for making you wait, Wren-sama, Bickslow-san." A grimace flickered over Wren-sama's face for an instant and Freed internally panicked over what Rule he might have broken, but then the look was gone and she motioned to the door with a smile.

Bickslow-san led the way back down to Laxus-sama's chosen training ground, Wren-sama staying close to Freed's elbow to help him navigate the deeper part of the forest and its treacherous footing. Freed had never realized just how hard only having one eye was until now, and despite his fear of Fairy Tail's cranky healer, he found himself looking forward to going back to her house tomorrow. He could hardly wait to get the bandage taken off and have two eyes to use again.

 _Although, it won't be completely the same anymore._ Freed gave a faint flinch at the thought, one hand subconsciously rising to cradle the bandage over his replacement eye. On bad nights, Freed could feel the burn of the knife carving out his eye all over again, as intensely painful and horrifying as if it was truly happening and not just a bad memory.

Ironically, those bad nights were one of the reasons Freed's loyalty to Laxus-sama had only grown. The leader of the _Raijinshū_ seemed to have an uncanny sense of when one of his own was in distress, and Freed had often awoken to Laxus-sama's concerned face and a mug of warmed milk to soothe his shattered nerves.

A gentle hand touched his arm and Freed jerked a bit in surprise. Glancing over, he realized that Wren-sama had picked upon his flinch and shiver and was now watching him with a look of concern. Swallowing down the terrors that threatened to creep up on him as best he could, Freed murmured, "It's nothing, Wren-sama, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern."

Wren-sama leveled him a look that clearly stated that she did not believe him, but she did not press further. Instead, she turned her eyes forward to the clearing they had just entered. Laxus-sama sat on an old fallen tree trunk on the far side of the clearing, observing the other two occupants of the chosen training ground with a stern eye.

Evergreen stood with her hands on her knees, her breath leaving her in sharp pants while Cana-san grimly tried to perform another upside down sit-up on her tree branch. Bickslow-san gave a short laugh as he took in the scene, "How many laps did ya make it this time, Ever?"

Evergreen shot Bickslow-san a dark look, eyes flashing dangerously from behind her glasses and Freed winced internally. There was a very good reason Evergreen wore glasses all the time despite her good eyesight, and that reason was her temper. Even if she didn't mean to turn anyone into stone, her temper often triggered her eye magic without warning. According to mother, it had led to quite a few servants getting temporarily turned into stone statues when she was a toddler.

Laxus-sama answered the question on Evergreen's behalf, "About fifteen. Not bad since she's just starting out." Bickslow-san made a noise of agreement and then, much to Freed's surprise, tossed a canteen he had not noticed Bickslow-san carrying at Evergreen's head.

His step-sister barely managed to catch it, her surprise clear, "E-eh?"

Bickslow-san stretched easily, "It's water. Figured you'd need it since Laxus didn't let you come up to the house with Freed and me."

Evergreen looked from the canteen to Bickslow-san and back again before a slow blush crawled up her ears and she looked stubbornly at the ground, "…Thanks, I guess."

Cana-san dropped down from the tree branch with a groan while Evergreen took a long drink from the canteen, "Can we be done now? My stomach feels like it's made of fire and spending hours out here just doing laps, sit-ups, pushups, and more sit-ups is **boring** …"

Laxus-sama looked wholly unsympathetic to Cana-san's complaint, "We do some sparring too."

Cana-san scowled at her leader in a way that Freed thought was completely inappropriate and against the Rules, " **Non-magical** sparring most of the time! Admit it, Laxus, you're just as bored as the rest of us!"

Freed bristled at the disrespect in Cana-san's tone and, despite Cana-san being one of his seniors in the _Raijinshū_ , he blurted defensively, "Don't speak that way to Laxus-sama! If he says we continue training, then we do so until either he says to stop or we physically cannot train anymore!"

The gaze of every person in the clearing shifted to stare at him and Freed's confidence promptly crumbled, "I-I mean … that is … _ano_ …"

He wasn't sure if he should be grateful or even more frightened when Wren-sama stopped staring and began to silently laugh instead. Still laughing, she swatted Bickslow-san's arm to get his attention and then signed something. Bickslow-san gave a loud cackle of amusement that was echoed by his tikis at whatever she had said, and the sounds finally broke the staring.

Cana-san raised an eyebrow, "Wow. I mean, I know you're loyal to Laxus and all but … wow." Turning to Laxus-sama, Cana-san put her hands on her hips, "Well, oh great Laxus- **sama** ," Freed bristled again at the sarcasm he could hear, but she ignored his scowl, "what is your command? Do we keep training out here until we drop like he says, or do we actually take a **real** break and do something fun?"

Laxus-sama had an odd look on his face, as if he was very disconcerted about something, "Uh, well." He shot a glance at Freed that the green-haired boy could not interpret before he rubbed his scar and said, "Okay, fine. We'll do something else. Anyone have any ideas?"

Bickslow-san's response was instant, "Job."

Bickslow-san's tikis seemed especially enthusiastic about his suggestion and started to bounce in the air and chant, "Job! Job! Job! Job!"

Freed didn't dare interrupt again, but thankfully, Evergreen chose to do so for him, "But Porlyusica-san said we couldn't go on any jobs for at least two weeks!"

Bickslow-san waved a hand in dismissal, "That's only one day away, we can take an easy job here in Magnolia. Something without bandits or monsters. It would be a good experience for Freed and Ever. Besides, how's Porlyusica-san gonna know if we don't tell her?"

Cana-san slapped her forehead in eerie synchrony with Wren-sama, "Well since you said **that** , Fairy Tail Luck is bound to kick in and prove you wrong."

Bickslow-san scowled at Cana-san and Freed sensed yet another one of their seemingly endless fights coming on, "Shut it, Shark."

Cana-san's hands drifted to her side where her card purse usually rested despite the fact that she had left it by one of the trees, "Why you…"

Freed shot a quick look at Wren-sama, expecting her to break them up as she always had before. But instead of her usual scowl at their budding fight, Wren-sama had a terrifying grin in place as she watched them. Freed hadn't seen that particular smile before, but he decided that he didn't want to ever find out what it meant.

Laxus-sama, who had seen Wren-sama's smile as well, hastily stepped in, "Alright, alright. **One** mission, here in Magnolia, that won't pose any kind of risk and that won't get back to Porlyusica-san or _Jiji_. We'll just have to hope that we used up most of our Fairy Tail Luck for the week with Wren's disappearing act yesterday."

Bickslow-san immediately abandoned his glaring match with Cana-san in favor of standing protectively by his sister at the reminder of her odd disappearance for the day. With one last glare and a huff, Cana-san moved to retrieve her card purse while Evergreen padded over to stand next to Freed. The step-siblings exchanged baffled looks and Evergreen asked, "Um, Laxus-sama, what exactly **is** Fairy Tail Luck? Is it bad?"

Laxus-sama grimaced at her question, "It's not bad, exactly, just … difficult. It's kinda hard to explain."

Laxus-sama searched for words for a moment, "…Every member of Fairy Tail is both cursed and blessed with Fairy Tail Luck. Everyone has a different kind of Fairy Tail Luck, and it's generally agreed on that the more Fairies there are in one location that isn't the guild building, the more drastic the Fairy Tail Luck will be. Cana has a habit of busting crime rings while Bickslow has a thing for running into bandits for example."

Freed felt a slight chill go down his spine, "S-so it's a curse?" Laxus-sama, Bickslow-san, and Cana-san all gave a resounding "no", but Wren-sama just made a so-so gesture that gave Freed no comfort whatsoever.

Laxus-sama rubbed the back of his head, "It's **not** a curse … it's just … Luck. Both good and bad. The bad part is we usually run into more trouble than any other guild, more often than any other guild. But the good part is that it's well … survivable. And it can also lead to some really amazing things. Like- like how I met Bickslow and Wren, or even how we met you." Freed felt himself go pale and Laxus-sama winced at his expression, "Okay, that was a very bad example. Look, Fairy Tail Luck is pretty much impossible to explain. You just have to experience it for yourself. Then you'll see it isn't so bad."

Bickslow-san nodded in agreement, but Freed thought he heard Cana-san mutter, "Except for when it is."

Freed exchanged another look with his step-sister to confirm whether or not she had heard Cana-san's mutter as well. The look on her face said that she had, and that she did feel very reassured either. But, they had sworn to follow Laxus-sama wherever he went no matter what, so they would just have to take a deep breath and learn how to survive this "Fairy Tail Luck".

Laxus-sama clapped his hands to get everyone's attention, "Alright, no sense waiting around. Let's head to the guild and snag a job."

Cana-san and Bickslow-san gave enthusiastic cheers while Wren-sama gave a roll of her eyes that seemed oddly content. Freed and Evergreen meekly joined in the cheering while Freed tried to reassure himself. _It's just one simple job here in town. It will probably be a glorified chore like weeding a garden or walking dogs. What could go wrong?_

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

A steady throaty roar pierced the air, followed by a whine and a grinding sound, "Cana look out! It's coming your way!"

A shriek of terror, a rustle of cards, an explosion, and the faint crackle of burning grass, "It **dodged**? How can that thing dodge?"

A bark of derisive laughter that belied the tense tone that followed, "Well, considering how bad your aim is-"

Another rustle of cards, barely heard over the throaty roar and general chaos, "What did you say?"

The crackle of lightning in the air, followed by a zap and a curse, "Would you two focus of ten Mavis-forsaken minutes? We need to put this thing down!"

Two voices, shouted in synchrony despite their aggression toward the other, "But he/she started it!"

"I don't **care** who started it! Just end it and focus on-"

A terrified scream pierced the air and the steady roar seemed to take on a malicious note of pleasure. A loud crash of wood being shattered followed swiftly by curses from multiple parties and a bark of, "Don't let it escape!"

Rihanna stared after the other _Raijinshū_ as they thundered out of the hole left in the white picket fence for a moment and pondered the newest assault against her sanity. Of all the simple missions to go absurdly wrong, this had to be the most ridiculous. Or at least in the top five.

It hadn't been job that ran the risk of demon-cats, it hadn't been near the outskirts of town were bandits or random forest creatures could barge in and wreak havoc. It hadn't even been a job that might incur the wrath of a traveling troupe of ninja or getting run over by a giant dog with a tongue as long as Rihanna's forearm.

It had been a simple, unexciting, unchallenging job to mow Petunia-san's yard because she had twisted her ankle the other day and couldn't do it herself. She had even let them use her very old, magic lawnmower that looked like it might have held seniority over Master Makarov. Cana had complained, but it was the only one they'd managed to snatch before Makarov noticed them near the request board and Laxus had said it was perfect as a first mission for the skittish Freed and Evergreen.

So, naturally, Fairy Tail Luck had kicked in with a vengeance and the ancient lawnmower that looked like it deserved to be in a mechanical retirement home had gone berserk.

Though, that might have been because Freed had the "brilliant" idea to carve the runes for "infinite magic battery" onto the lawnmower rather than use a lacrima or the SE-Plug when it was his turn to mow the backyard.

Another crash and more terrified screams sounded further up the street and Rihanna sighed as she took off after the others, _so much for a calm first mission._ No one seemed to notice her as she darted after the rest of the _Raijinshū_ , though that was probably because of the killer lawnmower tearing down the street and scaring pedestrians and pets alike.

Laxus and the others appeared to be trying to herd the lawnmower away from the more populated streets and toward the roads that led out of town. For its part, the lawnmower was weaving an erratic path down the street, sparks flying from its underbelly as its blades ground against the cobblestones. Cana threw another of her cards at it and Rihanna watched in something akin to resigned disgust as the lawnmower swerved around the card and skidded up against a picket fence. The sparks coming from its undercarriage promptly set fire to the fence, which caused yet another scream of shock from the fleeing passersby.

Cana swore and threw a water card at the fence to douse the flames just as Bickslow manage to lunge forward and grab hold of the lawnmower's handlebar. The lawnmower halted for all of two seconds at the added weight, then took off again with Bickslow still attached, the boy and his tikis screeching curses and insults at the piece of machinery the entire way.

Laxus took a moment to facepalm while still running, a sentiment Rihanna mirrored, while Freed shouted, "Bickslow-san! Dispel the rune!"

Bickslow's voice was half-drowned out by the lawnmower as he yelled, " **What**?"

Freed cupped his hands around his mouth to be heard more clearly, " **Dispel the rune**!"

"How the f-" the lawnmower swerved around a horse-drawn carriage, startling the horse and causing it to rear, it's hooves flashing inches away from Bickslow's face as the lawnmower whipped by, " **ahhh**!" The horse crashed back onto all fours and bolted down the street in the opposite direction, the driver falling off of his seat with a cry at the sudden acceleration.

Laxus growled and snapped out, "Wren!" Rihanna spun on her heel at the command, shadows pooling out from her feet as she took off after the runaway carriage.

In the back of her mind, Rihanna was again reminded of the differences between this world and her old one as she managed to run just fast enough to get into range of the carriage with her shadows despite her status as a two-legged six-year-old rather than an adult four-legged horse. She flung her hand forward, shadows launching out at the silent command to wrap around the rig on the back that she suspected was designed to hold luggage.

The shadows punctured the base board and hooked tight. Before the shadows could pull taught and drag her along behind the carriage, Rihanna jumped into the air and mentally reeled the shadows in. The result was a spiderman-esque flight behind the carriage until her feet slammed onto the runaway vehicle. The carriage bucked and jolted beneath her feet and Rihanna leaned hard to one side as the horse bolted down a right-hand street at the intersection. The carriage tilted dangerously, but after a moment of tense panic, settled back onto all four wheels.

Rihanna began the risky and laborious task of using her shadows to climb onto the roof of the carriage and from there to the front where the horse and it's harness were. _I just hope the others can handle the lawnmower without me. Maybe I should have just blown the thing up with my Dōjutsu when it first went crazy, Makarov's wrath over the expense of replacing it be hanged._

By the time she had clambered to the front of the carriage, cut the harness with her shadows so that the carriage would slow to a stop on its own, then tracked down and rounded up the skittish horse, she was more than ready to blow up the lawnmower and have done. After turning over the exhausted horse to the nearest adult who wasn't gaping in shock at her shadow lasso fiasco, Rihanna followed the trail of smoke, chaos, screaming, and singed cabbages back to the other _Raijinshū_.

The trail led all through town, over the bridge to the outskirts, past the irate Farmer Maggot's place and his traumatized dogs, and into the woods. Scraped off pieces of bark, lawnmower-mauled bushes, marks of wayward lightning blasts, tarot cards, and a few tiki laser gouges all provided clear signs as to where the chase had led. Unease began to bloom in her stomach as she realized that the section of woods in which she was wandering looked … very familiar.

 _No way. Not even our Fairy Tail Luck is that bad. This can't be the section of woods that…_ Rihanna froze just before she could round the corner at the unmistakable thwack of something wooden hitting skulls and a feminine roar the sent birds fleeing in panic, " **You stupid, disobedient children**! I should have Makarov **turn you all into mice**! At least then you wouldn't be so **troublesome**! I said to wait **two weeks** before trying anything stupid like this **! You couldn't even wait one more day you imbecilic humans? AND JUST LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY GARDEN!** "

 _Pantherlilies._ Rihanna dropped into her shadow form and peeked around the corner of a large boulder. Porlyusica-san towered over the rest of the _Raijinshū_ , an aura that was a lot like a magic-aura yet not crackling around her form. Her eyes glowed with a furious red and Rihanna would have wondered how someone from Edolas could do that when they supposedly had no internal magic reserves if she had not been so terrified.

The _Raijinshū_ knelt on both knees at Porlyusica-san's feet in the traditional bow of apology. All of them were scraped, bruised, singed, windblown, and otherwise looked like they had gone a few rounds with a dragon and lost. The lawnmower lay on its side in the middle of a ruined herb garden with a broom imbedded through both it's engine and the runes Freed had carved like some kind of blunt spear.

Loyalty warred with self-preservation before Rihanna turned and began to slink away. Technically, she had been busy with the horse and carriage when this all happened, so she wasn't to blame for the ruined herb garden, the broken garden tools, and the quietly smoking curtains hanging from Porlyusica-san's shattered window.

Something loomed over her and a chill went up her spine before she had made it three steps. Rihanna glanced over her shoulder in trepidation and found herself staring into the glowing red eyes of Porlyusica-san despite the fact that Rihanna was hidden in shadow form and Porlyusica-san was technically a non-magical.

"Get. In. Line. With. The. Others." Each word was punctuated by a tap of a broom handle against Porlyusica-san's wrinkled palm that sounded very much like a death-knell to Rihanna's ears. Rihanna debated her chances of being able to teleport away before Porlyusica-san could somehow knock her out of the shadows with her broom and double her punishment for trying to escape.

The aura of death -perhaps this was what the Naruto ninja referred to as Killing Intent?- increased warningly and Rihanna decided not to take her chances with the woman who could successfully bring Makarov to heel. Rihanna dropped out of the shadows and slunk into line between a quaking Freed and a scowling Bickslow.

Porlyusica-san followed her over, her broom still tapping out a death-knell on her palm. She came to a stop in front of them, her wrathful gaze taking in their measure and clearly finding them wanting, "So. Tell me, you harebrained, reckless, disobedient children. Just who is going to clean up the mess that has been made of my garden and my house?"

There was clearly only one answer to that question if any of them wanted to survive, and four hours later, the _Raijinshū_ staggered home covered in dirt, heads pounding from broom-inflicted lumps, and having had more garden care knowledge crammed into their heads than they had ever believed existed. It wasn't until they had all showered, scrounged from the fridge, and collapsed into a glorified puppy pile on the living room floor that Freed asked tentatively, "Laxus-sama?"

Laxus grunted and Rihanna fought to keep her eyes open as Freed continued, "Is this what you meant … by Fairy Tail Luck?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"And it happens on every mission where there is more than one Fairy Tail member?"

Laxus flopped an arm in a so-so gesture, "All it takes is one Fairy really, but the more there are, the worse it gets."

"So … has there ever been a Fairy Tail team as large as yours, Laxus-sama?"

"Nope. Counting Mest, the largest team in Fairy Tail before now is only about half our size."

"So that means that we will have roughly twice as much Fairy Tail Luck than any other team in Fairy Tail's recorded history?"

"Yep."

There was a long pause as everyone mulled over the implications of that before Evergreen summed up all their thoughts with a flat whimper of, "We're doomed."

Rihanna just started laughing.

.

* * *

 **In case anyone is wondering about Porlyusica's Aura of Death and glowing eyes, all I can say is that this is the woman who kept Makarov, Master Bob, Rob, and Goldmine in line at the same time when they were young and reckless. If that kind of Fairy Tail Luck exposure doesn't give you some kind of superpower or minimal ability to effect the magic of the world around you, nothing will. To answer another question that might come up, no, Porlyusica can not wield Caster spells in this story. She's just very good at wielding the Fairy Tail version of Killing Intent since that was basically her only way to keep Makarov and Co in line when they were young. Also, sorry for the abrupt ending of the chapter, but that's how it wanted to end. It's kind of a ... OVA chapter. A break between the more important/stressful arcs.**


	29. Chapter 28: Preparations

**Finally! Just finished editing this chapter a day or so ago, but Life got hold of me again so I was delayed in updating. But it's here at last!**

 **Review Response: Dragon Lord Draco, greetings! Glad you enjoyed it. If you think that's a good amount of Fairy Tail Luck, just imagine what will happen when the entire Raijinshū go on an ACTUAL magic job outside of Magnolia!**

 **Dear Lightsbane1905, hello there! (grins) "Doomed! Very entertaining though" basically sums up the entirety of the Fairy Tail series doesn't it?**

 **Dear EmberFlame03, hello! Why thank you, and I hope you enjoyed the side story!**

 **Dear Meiseki Dreams, hey there! Aren't Fairy Tail missions always doomed? You're welcome, I hope you enjoy this one as well!**

 **Dear BlackDove WhiteDove, hi! Glad you liked it so much! Yeah, Wren and her problems with being terrifying to other people isn't going to go away anytime soon. Hmm, that's kinda tricky to answer, considering Wren hasn't done any solo missions yet. But I'd like to think that the Pirate Arc was her Luck kicking in somehow. But we'll have to wait and see. (sniggers) Porlyusica is going to remember (and remind them of) that mission forever too, just not with any fondness. Enjoy the update!**

 **Dear Never Ending Song of Insanity, hi there! Aw, well, (offers tissues) have these as well as this newest chapter?**

 **Dear Yatocat19, greetings! Hearing that you think they would have acted like that in canon is one of the best compliments I can get!**

 **Dear Anonymus, hello! Sorry, but no to both. For the first one, because I think pairing up the Shadow users would just be ... to cliche. Not that I don't really like Rogue as a character, I just think pairing the two of them wouldn't work. I wouldn't mind making them become good friends though. As for your second request, I cannot make Wren related to anyone because she isn't possessing anyone's body but her own. The body she's in is the one she had back in her original world, it's just that one of the side-effects of crossing worlds was it physically de-aged her. I hope that all makes sense?**

 **Dear snowleopard314, hey there! So pleased to hear how you enjoyed both chapters! Freed and Evergreen were especially fun to introduce to Fairy Tail Luck. I'm actually really impatient to start incorporating more canon characters as well, because I have PLANS for them. But there's a few things I still need to take care of in the Raijinshū's early days before I start to think about time-skipping. Hope you enjoy this new chapter!**

 **Dear Lightblade23, hi! First off, I'm so happy to hear how much you like Wren and this story! Introducing OC main characters is always a tricky business. She won't be stuck as a kid forever, and I fully intend to eventually make my way through the entire FT series (and maybe a bit beyond but we'll see). I do have a pairing in mind, but I fully intend to take my time in both introducing it and developing it. Plus, it won't come until after Wren herself has developed quite a bit.**

 **Dear Carchee, greetings! Wow, you must be a master sneak-reader... (blushes) Thank you so much for your compliments. I really enjoy writing Wren and her story and to hear that you think she's so awesome and relatable totally makes my day! Keeping the plot from devolving into one of the more common "trying to get home" or "blurt out future knowledge at the drop of a hat" ones is actually the reason I made her mute. Communication is a very underestimated resource sometimes. I figured that if I really wanted a plausible excuse for her to not accidentally (or intentionally) blurting something out that she shouldn't, I needed to give her physical barrier. I wasn't sure I'd be able to write a mute character ... but it turned out that Wren is more than feisty enough to make up for her lack of vocal cords ;). Plus, Wren's situation was an excuse to play around with the main cast (and Bickslow!) as kids before the series started. Lyon will take a while to appear, but hopefully you'll find the wait worth it when he finally makes his entrance, because he plays a big role down the line. Enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear BizzyLizy, hello! Of course not. That would be reasonable and logical and when has Fairy Tail EVER been either of those things? It's not going to get any easier for Freed either (snickers). Freed is definitely one of the most unique perspectives I've ever written, I'm glad you enjoyed it, because it was HARD.**

 **Dear EnchantedDreamerr, hey there! I'm glad you've enjoyed this story so much! I have to ask though ... who do you find slightly annoying? I can't quite tell from your review. Either way, I hope whoever it is becomes less annoying to you as time goes on. Glad it made sense, I figured that something big would have had to happen to make Freed as loyal as he is. I hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Dear xXLittleBaphometXx, greetings! (gives flourish of hat) Well thank you! Also, you're patience has been rewarded because here is a new chapter!**

 **Dear Scarlet3Wolf12, hello there! (grins) Oh I have plans for our favorite cast of mages ... PLANS (muses cackle evilly in the background)...**

 **Author's Note: So, the beginning of this chapter is basically the opposite of light and fluffy, but is necessary because of Plot Reasons. After that it lightens up, though there is a foreshadow-y ending to the chapter. This is the start of something of a mini-arc, hopefully it won't be more than two-parts, three at the most. But it deals with an important issue and heralds another major AU turning point in the story, though it won't seem like it from Wren's perspective for a long time. Oh! One more thing, I'm doing NaNoWriMo this November, so you won't hear from me all that month and probably not the one after that either (which means my Christmas chapter will be late again, boo), but I'll try to come back as soon as possible. That's about all I can say about that, so I think I'll just end the AN here and let you all move on to the chapter itself! Toodles!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this chapter. The only things I own are my OCs who have run off with my plot.**

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 **.**

 **Chapter Twenty-Eight: Preparations**

 **(Six months, three weeks, two days since joining guild).**

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Her lungs begged for more air and burned from the smoke that greeted her every gasp as she ran. _Faster, faster, please, just a little more time-_ the thoughts circled in her head like a mantra as she stumbled and pelted her way through the forest. Bushes and brambles scratched at her arms and legs and face but she barely felt them. Her muscles begged for rest even as her heart screamed for her to go faster.

She was getting closer, she was almost there yet that knowledge offered no relief. Not when the smoke was so **thick** and the silence was so complete save for the ominous crackle of wood being consumed in fire. _Please._ She begged with everything she had left in her exhausted body as she staggered forward, _please. Let it be alright. Don't let them be hurt, please, please, not them! Not them, not_ ** _him_** _, anyone but him! I'll do anything, just let him be okay!_

The trees thinned and became increasingly scorched and ravaged, embers burned at the bottom her sandals with such intensity that it felt like the skin of her feet was going to peel away. But she didn't stop, she couldn't stop, she had to find him. She had to keep him safe. She had to **apologize-**

She rounded the last corner only to stumble over something and land hard on her front with a cry. Panic clawed at her as she tried to scramble up and untangle her feet from the fabric wrapped around her ankles and-

Wait.

With a rising swell of horror and disbelief, she turned and looked over her shoulder at the thing she had tripped over. Blood and smoke marred the clothes and matted hair and bile rose in her throat as she stumbled back and rolled the figure over, shaking and begging and screaming because he had to wake up, he had to be okay, he had to start **breathing again** and this **couldn't be happening no-no-no-no-no-PLEASE-**

"Wren! Wren, wake up! **Wake up**!" Something skittered over her skin, sharp and biting and Rihanna sat up screaming silently. Hands pulled her to a familiar chest, holding her tight as she kept trying to scream. Tears slid down without reserve as grief and terror and guilt all ripped through her like knives as the feeling of _gone-gone-gone-no-no-_ ** _no-_** circled endlessly in her mind. Minutes passed before she came fully back to herself and realized what was really going on. _The nightmares again._ Rihanna shuddered and closed her eyes briefly before she forced them open again, afraid of what she would see if she let them close for too long.

Gentle hands were rubbing up and down her back and Bickslow's voice murmured soothingly over her head in time to the vibrations in the chest to which she was being hugged. Rihanna felt another shudder pass through her body and Bickslow held her tighter, still speaking in a low, soothing voice, "It's okay, Wren. It's okay. You're in the Lighthouse, everyone is here, everyone is fine, you are fine. Nobody is hurt, nothing is coming for you, it was all just a nightmare, you're okay. You're okay. Laxus is right here, see? So is Cana and Mest. Freed and Evergreen are downstairs- check that," his voice shifted to a low hiss as he addressed someone over her head, "what are you two doing here? I told you to wait downstairs!"

"Is Wren-sama alright?" was the quiet, stubborn response to Bickslow's hiss.

Rihanna jumped a bit as Laxus spoke from no more than a foot away from her, "Nightmares. Nothing you two can do."

Rihanna raised her head from Bickslow's chest, stubbornly blinking away her tears as she scanned the room. Laxus was perched on the end of her bed, a dark, sad look in his eyes as he watched her. One hand hovered near her knee but did not touch, as if afraid of startling her. Cana stood next to the bed, a tense, heartbroken expression on her face that made Rihanna feel guilty for reasons other than whatever had happened in the rapidly fading nightmare. Mest was by the stairs, trying and failing to herd a concerned Evergreen and Freed back down to the living room.

Something in Rihanna's chest loosened at seeing them all alive and well. With a loud sniff, Rihanna tried to rein in her rampant emotions and quietly sat up. Bickslow loosened his hold on her immediately, but didn't let go. A part of her felt guilty again that Bickslow was getting so good at handling her nightmares.

Laxus finally allowed his hand to rest on her knee while Cana darted for some tissues on the nearby nightstand. The blond eyed her with worry, "You wouldn't wake up this time. Bickslow had to come and get me. I had to zap you to make you wake up." The intense worry and desire to know **why** went unspoken, but Rihanna heard it loud and clear anyway. She wanted to reassure them somehow, but there was nothing she could do or say. Not right now, with the smell of smoke still coating her sore throat and lungs and images of _fire-blood-no-breathe-why-won't-you-breathe-please-_

Laxus's hand tightened on her knee at the same moment Bickslow's hands moved to squeeze her shoulders and Rihanna shoved those thoughts as far away as possible. She shook herself before she raised her hands and tried to explain, _"I'm fine. Just a nightmare."_

"You wouldn't wake up, _Imōto_." Was Bickslow's tense response.

Rihanna reached up a hand to squeeze his arm, taking comfort as much as giving it as she tried to figure out how to explain something she didn't understand herself. She didn't know why Bickslow hadn't been able to wake her up this time, though she half-wondered if that was because it had been so **vivid** this time around. Even more so than usual. It had been so real. So terrifyingly, gut-wrenchingly real and even now, with the details of the nightmare already reduced to a few piercing flashes of sight and sound and emotion, a part of Rihanna struggled to accept that it hadn't actually been real.

Finally, unable to convey just how real it had all been without risking drowning in the remaining flashes of memory, Rihanna shook her head at them and moved to get up. Bickslow and Laxus let her go with clear reluctance, sliding off the bed with her to fuss over her while Cana passed her a wad of tissues that she gratefully took in order to clean herself up. She made it three steps away from the bed before she looked up again and froze in shock, _what happened to the room?_

The room was damaged. Deep gouges scored the walls, the few pictures they owned had been knocked off the walls, the other bed in the room was overturned entirely, and a glance back at her bed showed that one of her bedposts had been pulverized.

Seeing her stunned look, Mest piped up awkwardly, "You were lashing out magically in your sleep, Wren-chan. Nothing precise, just wild slashes and shockwaves with your shadows."

That … had never happened before. It was also very, very concerning. What if the others got hurt during her nightmares because of this? An impression of soot-caked clothes and blood-matted hair flickered behind her eyes and she stared at the others in a panic that Laxus was quick to soothe, "None of us got hurt, we're fine. It's you we're worried about."

Rihanna sniffed again and clutched her tissues, feeling a wave of hysteria almost overtake her before she slammed it down. _Too close. Too close. But why? Why is this happening? What do I keep seeing?_ Those thoughts plagued her even as she eventually managed to make the others go wait in the living room while she cleaned herself up and changed in the bathroom. Her eyes were red and puffy and her throat was sore from trying to scream and despite her best efforts to calm down, flashes of the nightmare still harassed her all the way down the stairs to join the others.

She made a mental note to slip away from the others sometime soon to have a nice long cry in private to get it out of her system. Hopefully that would help.

The others hovered when she came down to the living room. Bickslow was glued to her side while Freed and Evergreen fidgeted. Cana pressed herself against Rihanna's other side while Mest hovered just behind her and tried to keep Cana and Bickslow from whisper-fighting over Rihanna's head. Laxus offered to cancel their plans for the day but Rihanna drew the line at that. Despite the horrific and strangely elusive nature of her nightmares, she refused to let the others hide away indoors on a perfectly good day. Especially one that was so important.

It took a bit to convince Laxus that activity and busywork would be a better cure for her than locking her up in the lighthouse and wrapping her up in the couch blankets Bickslow was eyeing but she managed somehow. Shortly thereafter, they were all trekking down the streets to the guild hall, with Laxus now busy outlining various rules of conduct and survival for their upcoming in-town mission. Namely, all available Fairy Tail members were to assemble at the guild hall for instructions.

Why? Because Fairy Tail was throwing a party. This was not usually something to take note of, because Fairy Tail threw a party over just about any excuse. This time, however, was different.

It was a birthday party.

Well, several birthday parties all rolled into one. Apparently, since there were so many members in Fairy Tail that celebrating all of the individual birthdays would be an exercise in bankruptcy, Makarov had designated the twenty-fifth of every month to be the day when Fairy Tail would throw a party celebrating the birthdays of anyone born in that particular month. Of course, if the individual teams wanted to throw one on the specific day, that was fine, but the twenty-fifth was reserved as the day when **all** of Fairy Tail would pull out the stops and celebrate on behalf of all the members who had a birthday that month.

Having already experienced the madness four times out of the six months they'd been there already, Rihanna wasn't sure she wanted to be anywhere within ten miles of Magnolia when Christmas time rolled around. Combining the two events and the classic Fairy Tail enthusiasm for both sounded like a recipe for chaos even beyond the scope of the anime.

In any case, this would be Freed's and Evergreen's first time helping out, which she suspected was the reason Laxus had delayed their going to the guild hall for a few days rather than join in as soon as preparations had started. The two had needed a little bit of time to recover from their first official dose of Fairy Tail Luck and Freed was still getting used to having a full field of vision again.

By the time the guild hall came into view, Freed had almost religiously memorized every tip and rule that Laxus had told him and Evergreen was looking decidedly nervous. She didn't bother trying to help Mest reassure Evergreen, because even from here Rihanna could see what appeared to be a mass of balloons escaping out the open doors. Entangled in the strings of the slowly rising balloons was a shrieking Fairy Tail member who looked distinctly like poor Reedus. She wondered how he had gotten roped into balloon duty again after the last time this had happened.

Just ahead of her, Mest sighed and disappeared with a faint pop of magic to go rescue the fellow guild member. Freed made a strangled noise in his throat at the sight and Bickslow piped up with a bit of restored humor, "And **that** is why no one under the age of thirteen is allowed to be on balloon duty."

Evergreen's eyes were wide behind her glasses and she winced at the loud snaps of rubber that sounded as someone accidentally popped a few of the balloons in their attempt to round them up, "This happens a lot?"

Laxus made a low noise of resignation, "Every time. Come on, we'll go in the back way."

As it turned out, the back way wasn't much better. Someone had obviously gotten way, way too many balloons, as the moment Laxus opened the back door a small wave of them escaped to the outdoors and began to float away. Laxus grunted in exasperation as he caught two by their strings and dragged them back inside, closing the door again the moment everyone had entered. Freed was staring up at the ceiling of the foyer … or rather, the bobbing, shifting mass of bright colors that seemed to have replaced it.

Rihanna stared up at the balloons with a bland expression, _Pantherlilies. This is going to be the balloon version of the Confetti Invasion isn't it?_ Cana seemed to have similar thoughts, as her hands wandered down to her card bag and she muttered darkly about fast-acting glue and explosions. Laxus led the way down the balloon-infested hallway to the guild hall itself.

Activity inside the guild hall was like some kind of organized train wreck. One where everyone technically knew what they were doing and how to do it without fire, shouting, copious amounts of balloons, and stuffing other guild members into a giant piñata, but included those things and more anyway. Rihanna glanced up to the second floor, expecting to see Master Makarov perched on the railing and acting as if this kind of thing was perfectly normal and acceptable for party preparations. He wasn't there. Rihanna frowned for a moment as she tried to figure out where he could have gone-

"Yo! Laxus! _Raijinshū_!" Master Makarov's voice came from directly above them and Rihanna looked up … and then smacked her face with a palm. Because **of course** their midget Master would decide to tie a bunch of balloons to his belt and float over everything rather than sit on a chair like a normal seventy-something-year-old. At least he hadn't taken a beer mug up there with him, Rihanna would have resorted to drastic measures if any alcohol got spilled on her head.

Apparently this was not an unusual thing, because Laxus and the newly-returned Mest didn't even bother looking surprised. Laxus raised a hand in Makarov's direction, "Yo, _Jiji_!"

Rihanna watched with vague incredulity as Master Makarov did breast-strokes in the air like he was swimming and it **actually worked** in steering him around the rafters. The clearly magically cheating old man smiled down at them, "Here to help with the party? Or here to finally make your birthday wish?"

 _Wait what?_ Rihanna glanced at Laxus —who was making frantic shushing motions up at Master Makarov— in surprise. He hadn't said anything about his birthday being in november. Then Freed and Evergreen both gasped like fish and Rihanna realized why. The two newest _Raijinshū_ whirled on their leader with huge eyes. Laxus winced, but pointedly ignored them as he called up, "We're here to help, _Jiji_ , and you **know** I already submitted my wish list a month ago. Stupid old man…" The last part was a dark mutter she suspected was caused by the distraught looks on Freed's and Evergreen's faces.

Master Makarov just smiled down at Laxus, as if he wasn't aware of how he had just sold out his grandson to his fan-club-come-newest-teammates, "Alright then, you and your team can help wrap the presents that the others have turned in so far. Freed, you know how to use protection runes, boy? Good. When you're done wrapping, you can make sure the food tables and the presents table don't blow up this year. Wren will help you."

Laxus shot Master Makarov a look that promised painful revenge, to which his grandfather just shooed them away with cheer and resumed air-swimming to the next group that required supervision. Freed and Evergreen remained silent until they had escaped the chaos of the guild hall and been led to the upstairs dormitories that Rihanna and Bickslow had stayed in before buying the lighthouse.

The beds and floor were stacked high with presents and each bed also had its own pile of tape, tags, ribbon, and wrapping paper to go with it. Rihanna peeked at the foot of the beds and saw that someone had labeled each bed or pile of presents with the name of the intended recipient. _Huh, wonder where Laxus's presents are. Does he really trust Laxus not to peak? Or maybe Laxus just doesn't care about being surprised or not? Or maybe-_

" **Why didn't you tell us**?" The dual-voiced shout startled Rihanna out of her thoughts and she looked over her shoulder in the direction of the shouting. Freed and Evergreen had effectively cornered Laxus by the door. Their shoulders were tight, eyes watering and wide, and their bottom lips were quivering. Laxus looked distinctly uncomfortable, but when he tried to shuffle away from the two, they just shuffled with him.

Laxus rubbed the back of his neck, "It's really not that big a deal…"

" **Yes it is**!" Was the united shout of his fan club and out of the corner of her eye, Rihanna saw Mest shooting a confused frown in Laxus's direction.

Freed leaned closer to Laxus, his lip-quiver growing more pronounced, "It's your **birthday party** , Laxus-sama! How are we supposed to acquire suitable birthday presents for you if you don't even tell us when it is? Or what you like? Or how we should-"

Laxus held up his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay, I get it. But you really don't have to do anything like that, okay? I'm sure _Jiji's_ already either gotten everything on the wish list he makes me write every year, or had someone else get it for him. I didn't tell you because you two don't really have any money right now anyway, and I'd feel bad having you take something out of the team fund just for this. Besides, it's not really that important."

Now Rihanna was frowning in Laxus's direction as well, because since when did a kid —because thirteen still counted as a kid— not care about his own birthday? Bickslow looked up from where he had already begun clumsily wrapping a present, "Yeah, what's the big deal? It's just a day."

Freed and Evergreen whirled on Bickslow with expressions of horror, "Just a day?" Freed squawked, "Just a day? It's Laxus-sama's **birthday**! The day **Laxus-sama was born**! It is a most honored day that must be celebrated with all of the reverence and joy due its momentous status!" _Easy there Freed, that's skirting out of fanboy status and into something dangerously close to "devoted cultist"._

Mest looked about as disturbed as Rihanna was feeling as he tried to break up the rising hysteria, "Look, if it matters that much to you, I know a bit about what Laxus likes so I'll help you pick something out later. But let's get these presents wrapped and the runes sorted out first okay? The Master did give us jobs to do."

Freed and Evergreen eyed Mest thoughtfully, but finally agreed to his proposal when Laxus ordered them to. Rihanna sat down in front of a random pile of presents and set about wrapping them, her thoughts briefly lingering on Laxus's lack of enthusiasm for his own birthday. It wasn't unheard-of she supposed, but it still rubbed her the wrong way. She recalled still getting excited over her birthday at that age, and her mother and friends hadn't had near the amount of funds or manpower that Fairy Tail did. She wondered if perhaps having to share his birthday celebrations with so many other people in the guild had soured his enthusiasm over the years.

Bickslow worried her too. They had never celebrated his birthday on the streets and she doubted that many pleasant pre-street memories had survived his abuse at the hands of the townsfolk. A surge of guilt went through her as Rihanna realized that she didn't even know when Bickslow's birthday **was**. Rihanna raised her gaze from the presents she was automatically wrapping to study her adoptive brother. A moment later her guilt was temporarily forgotten in favor of silent surprised laughter.

Mest had spotted Bickslow as well and there was a definite chuckle in his voice as he asked, "Need a little help, Bickslow?"

Bickslow growled something unrepeatable into the floor and his tikis fluttered helplessly above him, as if trying to figure out how to get their master out of his predicament. Bickslow had apparently waged a simultaneous war with the wrapping paper, the huge roll of tape, and the ribbons that were supposed to be used for bows.

He had lost. Badly.

Laxus turned his attention away from his own project and stared at the squirming, ribbon-mummified mass of wrapping paper and tape that happened to have Bickslow's head sticking out of it. He gave a suppressed snort of laughter and turned back to his project, apparently deeming Mest capable of helping Bickslow get free.

Cana had neither Mest's nor Laxus's restraint and started howling with laughter as Bickslow flopped like a fish on the floor in frustration. Mest shot a reproving glance at both Cana and the silently sniggering Rihanna as he crouched down next to Bickslow, "Hold still Bickslow, I'll get you out. How did you manage to do this without making a racket anyway?" Bickslow growled unintelligibly into the floor again while his tikis whizzed across the room the harass Cana for laughing. Cana retaliated on instinct with her cards.

Honestly, Rihanna really shouldn't have been as surprised by the miniature brawl that broke out as she was. Thankfully, none of the presents were destroyed in the time it took Rihanna to catch the tikis with her shadows and glare her two teammates into submission. Laxus did have to help put out first the bedspread and then Freed's hair though.

After Mest had unwound Bickslow from his birthday-themed mummy wrappings and agreed to show Bickslow how to properly wrap presents without ending up being wrapped himself, things went more smoothly.

However, the brief bout of chaos had been enough to cause Rihanna to temporarily forget both of her earlier concerns.

She would remember the first concern and curse her short-sightedness later.


	30. Chapter 29: Reprisal

**What is this? An update! BEFORE January? Yes. Yes it is. No, I'm not sure I believe it either. But even so ... rejoice! I decided to give my brain a break from my original novel (would you guys/gals be interested in reading that by the way? I am seriously, legitimately trying to get it published sometime in late 2018) and so I took turns working on either this story or Melodies every virtual write-in. As such, I now have this chapter, a second chapter, most of a third chapter (Christmas chapter that is finally on schedule!) and a one-shot all pre-written for you. I also have two Melodies chapters finished and waiting for edits, so hopeful an update will but up on that story soon. Also, I won NaNo again, so I am a happy camper right now.**

 **Review Response: Dear Dragon Lord Draco, greetings! Maybe ... read this chapter to discover the answers! Thank you, NaNo went well! I hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Dear Lightsbane1905, hello there! Combined? (grins) You'd have to be sitting here, in another town that is in another country that is in an entirely different dimension. Otherwise you're chances are 70/40 in favor of Fairy Tail with the odds dropping the closer you are to Magnolia. For JUST a birthday bash, being on the other side of the country is usually enough to keep you safe.**

 **Dear Draconicflare, hi! Oh, I remember you! I still have that rule saved in my plot notes somewhere, I totally intend to use it someday. I hope you enjoyed the side story! Too true. Fairy Tail Luck is basically what you get when Karma gets rip-roaring drunk. Hmmmm, actually no. Her nightmares, while they ARE something and are important to the plot (way, way, way later on) are not seer magic. Wren cannot see the future aside from what she remembers of the anime/manga. Exactly, and the more of them there are, the worse it gets. Just wait until Christmas rolls around, then everyone except Gildarts is going to be there... Freed and Evergreen have always struck me as near-cultists with their devotion to Laxus in the anime, especially Freed. Hopefully Wren will tame their fan-isms a bit as they get older. I'll cover Bickslow's birthday later, and Wren's is the same date it was back in her world, just people will assume the year is different. Yes, she was physically three when she first arrived in Earthland. Hope you enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear BlackDove WhiteDove, hello! Yep, more nightmares. They won't be going away anytime soon either I'm afraid. Freed is adorable, he's growing on me the same way Bickslow did when I first started writing him. You're welcome and I hope you enjoy the newest update!**

 **Dear Shamwoohoo52, hey there! Actually, you only have to wait a month this time. I managed to get some work down in between editing my NaNo project. I know, I used to keep a schedule, but I'm a slow writer who writes long chapters and so keeping a schedule, even every two weeks, is basically impossible. Oh well, here's an update for now!**

 **Dear FanofOC's greetings! That is intentional on my part, as I want it to be a surprise and romance is much farther down the line in the story anyway (she's still physically a kid after all). I really don't want to say who she will end up with here in the Review Response as I don't want to spoil it for everyone else. I can now say that Laxus is not an option, as he has been placed firmly in the big-brother role. If you really must know who and you have a FanFiction account, send me a PM and I'll tell you that way. Or wait and be surprised, if you have the patience for it, might be more rewarding that way.**

 **Dear de junco, hey there! You're welcome and it's fine, I'm just happy you decided to review now! Thank you for your lovely review, I really enjoy fleshing out background characters and showing things the series didn't cover, it's nice to know that you're enjoy it as well! She does need her boys just as much as they need her. Glad you enjoy their relationship, it's one of my favorite aspects of the story to write so far. Laxus is, in fact, more grounded than in the show, I figured he and Cana were good ways to start showing Wren's AU effect on the story (albeit slowly). Ask away! I do get this question a lot, but that's fine. To answer it; yes, there will be time skips. The first one will take place right after this arc is finished, actually, but will only be a minor timeskip to Wren's first Fairy Tail Christmas. After that, I'll be making minor hops through the timeline to start reaching the anime. I intend to keep up a relatively slow pace, but hopefully we'll get to see the main cast as kids trickle in soon. Also, if you want to see a sneak peak of Fairy Tail in the future, check out my one-shot collection Amongst Untrodden Ways: Detours (if you haven't already of course). You're welcome and have a great week!**

 **Dear gryffindorandcats, hello! So happy to hear it! Having my story compared positively to the original show has to be one of the highest compliments I've ever received on a story, so thank you!**

 **Dear aoi6154, greetings! Aww, so thrilled to hear it! I'm having a lot of fun with this story, and it's wonderful to hear/read how much other people enjoy reading it.**

 **Dear The Ancient Phoenix, hi there! You're welcome, it occurred to me that the old way would be confusing. I can't read kanji, so I can't add them in the translations page, but I hope they help anyway. Oh, she knows her birthday (just not the Earthland year for it), but nobody else knows her birthday and that hasn't occurred to her yet. So thrilled to know you love it! The 'main cast' so to speak will show up more dominantly as time goes on (especially in certain anime arcs), but I hope to keep the focus on Wren and the Raijinshū rather than constantly rehash episodes over and over.**

 **Dear WolfGirl01, hello! Read on to see what happens next! The balloon attack might become a thing in a later chapter, but not right now. This is actually a more serious (if short) arc.**

 **Author's Note: So minor cliffy warning. Shouldn't be too bad, no worse than an actual two-part episode in the anime, but there you go. Not much I can say in this note without giving spoilers, so I think I'll just let you all go ahead and read the story.**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

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 **Chapter Twenty-Nine: Reprisal**

 **(Six months, three weeks, two days since joining guild).**

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Freed fidgeted with his shoulder-length hair as he padded down the street. Every few steps, he paused to stare intently into the shop windows, trying to find a gift worthy of Laxus-sama. Mest-san had been kind enough to suggest several things, since Laxus-sama refused to offer any ideas himself. The teleportation mage had even been nice enough to escort Evergreen and Freed to one of the smaller shopping districts, citing that he had his own shopping to do when Freed had worried about causing an inconvenience.

Evergreen and he had decided to split up in order to better search for gifts and Mest-san had told them to rendezvous in an hour or two at the steps of the famous Kardia Cathedral when they were done. Freed had some money —lent from the team fund upon Wren-sama's insistence— in his pocket, but he had yet to find anything suitable within his price-range.

He pondered mournfully that this entire enterprise would have been much easier if he'd still had access to his family's funds. His allowance back then had been at least twice the amount of money he currently possessed. Freed felt a deep pang of grief at the thought of his family and the life he and Evergreen had been forced to leave behind, but managed to shove it to the back of his mind after a few moments. He had to focus on his Important Task of finding his first birthday present to Laxus-sama.

Freed checked the time with the small magic pocket watch he'd received for his seventh birthday and hummed nervously when he realized that he'd been wandering around for two hours now. Mest-san had said to make his way to Kardia Cathedral after two hours, but it had sounded more like a suggestion than an order and he couldn't return empty-handed surely? But then, Mest-san was his senior in the _Raijinshū_. Did that mean his suggestion was more akin to an order and being late to the rendezvous would be a breach of the Rules? Freed didn't know. He wrestled with the dilemma for so long that by the time he decided to head to Kardia Cathedral just to be safe, he looked up to find himself in a completely unfamiliar section of Magnolia.

Freed bit his lip, _oh dear…_ This wasn't the shopping district. He almost thought it was a residential district, but a second examination of his surroundings showed shop signs —all with a predominantly red color-scheme— hanging from the windows of most of the buildings. The signs all had names and … advertising images … that made his face turn tomato as soon as he finished registering them. _Oh._ ** _Oh_** _. So_ ** _that's_** _what Kashakawa-san meant by a Red Light district…_

Freed looked around uneasily, trying to figure out the fastest way out of the area without actually looking at any of the signs and … things. At least it was still daylight and there seemed to be hardly anyone around at the moment. Over the tops of the buildings, Freed spotted the spires of Kardia Cathedral to his left and breathed a sigh of relief. Trying his absolute hardest not to make eye-contact with any of the few people in the area or look at the … advertisements … again, Freed took off down the nearest alley in the direction of Kardia Cathedral.

Because Freed was not an idiot —he may have only been ten but his _kā-san_ had told him the Rules for what to do when lost many times— he kept one hand tucked in his pocket, clenched tight around his magic Light Pen and the shape of a defensive rune in the forefront of his thoughts.

The red light district was quickly left behind —it was apparently smaller than Freed had thought it was— but he didn't dare stop as he padded around trash cans and sidestepped any shadows that looked deep enough to be inhabited. More than once Freed had to pause to double-check his bearings, feeling more than a little thankful that Kardia Cathedral was so much taller compared to the other buildings.

The alleys began to widen as he approached the more central areas of Magnolia. Freed felt his muscles begin to relax and he had just started to contemplate returning to the main streets for quicker travel now that alleys were more likely to house disreputable folk than the main streets of the current district when stray voices caught his ears from a nearby alley.

"-are especially rare on the market. Better to sell them whole and reproducible rather than risk damage from improper sanitization of equipment." Freed stopped at the sound of the graveled voice, startled and wary. He took a step back, ready turn and go the other way for a bit and ignore the questionable legality of what he just heard. _I mean, it's not like there's a Rule against discussing business behind a house … right? None of my business. I promised Laxus-sama I would stay out of trouble-_

"Don't touch my sister, you bloody bast-!" The familiar voice froze Freed's feet to the floor even as something struck flesh and the shout cut off with a gasp. Freed felt his heart roar in his ears, _that sounded like-_ a low hiss came from the direction of the voices and Freed found his body moving without his consent to huddle low against a wall and peer around the corner.

Eight men stood in a loose circle, the majority of them focused on the two figures huddled in the center of their formation while a tall, imposing man with black hair snarled at a shorter blond, "Careful with the merchandise!" The black-haired man then leered down at the two huddled figures, "And I suggest you two **stay quiet**. Broken ribs are a hassle to heal and with your magic, I wouldn't have to bother with it to get a decent market price on you two."

Another low hiss came from the smaller of the figures, but Freed could barely hear it over the thunder of his terrified heart in his ears. _It's them. It's them. It's-them-it's-them-what-do-I-what-do-I-do-_ ** _what-do-I-do_** _?_ Freed had no solid idea of what was going on, or even how such a thing was possible because Laxus-sama had promised that this city was **safe** , that no one would harm them here, and Laxus-sama **wouldn't lie**.

So why were Bickslow-san and Wren-sama huddled in a group of strange men, bruised and tied up and Bickslow-san gasping for air?

"If your going to add them to the usual shipment," grunted a man in a well-pressed, out-of-place business suit, "then we'd better get a move on. The wagon will be here soon and we can't have that blasted guild catching wind of this 'till we're long gone."

Pieces slammed together and for a moment Freed couldn't breathe. Magic Hunters. These men were Magic Hunters. They were **here in Magnolia** and they were going to steal Wren-sama and Bickslow-san away because of their eye magic. Sell them off to the highest bidder if they didn't just rip out their eyes first and sell those instead. It was impossible. Should have been impossible. Laxus-sama and Master Makarov had both assured Freed that Magic Hunters wouldn't dare enter a town that housed a guild as strong as Fairy Tail, that Fairy Tail had measures in place to prevent this kind of atrocity.

 _I need to get help._ The thought flittered through Freed's mind as he pressed himself against the wall and covered his mouth with his hands to smother the sound of his terror-stricken gasps. _I need to go tell the Master, he'll know the Rules for this, he'll know what to do-_

Wren-sama lashed out as one of the men reached down to pick her up, her teeth sinking into his wrist only to be roughly shaken off and kicked by the angered man. _Why isn't she using magic? Why isn't she just teleporting away?_ Freed's gaze settled on the handcuffs holding Wren-sama's hands behind her back and felt dread swoop deeper into his stomach as he pieced together the runes engraved on it, _anti-magic handcuffs. Any skin contact locks down victim's magic in their core. Even_ ** _eye magic_** _won't work if someone's cuffed with that. They came prepared, this was planned what-do-I-do?_

Freed wanted to run away, an inner voice that sounded distinctly like his mother insisted he **should** run away. Go get help, go get an adult, run to the nearest street and scream. But if he did that the men would run away and they might take Bickslow-san and Wren-sama with them and Freed might not get help in time to save them.

Freed fumbled for his Light Pen as the men tried to pick up Wren-sama again only for Bickslow-san to distract them by kicking and cursing. _I'm just a kid. I need to get help. There's too many._

Another thought slid into being, _but if I just distract them, grab Wren-sama and Bickslow-san and_ ** _run-_** _No. I can't._

 _I can't do this._

One of the men dragged Wren-sama up by her hair, heedless of her pained gasp and suddenly Freed was no longer in Magnolia. He was in the woods and his eye socket was throbbing because his eye was gone-gone-gone but his fear was overridden with awe as a boy with lightning and vengeance in his eyes took down men almost twice his size for two perfect strangers. _They did it. They did it for you._

Wren-sama was tucked firmly under an arm, Bickslow-san being dragged up kicking and screaming from behind a gag they'd just forced into his mouth and Freed's remaining original eye **burned**.

 _I can't do this._

Laxus-sama flashed in his mind's eye, staring him down seriously as he outlined Fairy Tail's Golden Rule, "No matter what happens. No matter what you personally think of another member of the guild. No matter how much you fight with that member, no matter what you're doing at the time. If **anyone** hurts another member of Fairy Tail, you run the Mavis-forsaken snake and **anyone with him** down and make them **pay**."

 _I can't do this,_ pleaded the part of his mind that sounded so much like his mother.

 _I have to,_ snarled the part of him that was loyal to Laxus-sama, the part of him that was Fairy Tail, the part of him that was **_Raijinshū_**.

Freed pounded around the corner, "Wren-sama! Bickslow-san!" Heads turned, eyes widened in surprise, and Freed barely had a moment to think about **just how stupid this was** before the burn in his eye crystalized into _words-intent-magic_ and his Light Pen glowed brilliantly as he screamed, "Close your eyes!"

The rune for light wrote into the air for all of a second before Freed squeezed his eyes shut and stabbed it with the pen. The rune destabilized and shattered, its effect surging widely out of control until it was not the simple illumination orb the rune was built for but was instead a blinding flare. Spots danced in front of Freed's eyes despite them being closed, but he didn't stop. His right eye slitted open, power spilling from his mind to his eye and then to his tongue and Light Pen as he lashed out at the men holding Wren-sama and Bickslow-san, "Disconnect!"

The arms holding Wren-sama and Bickslow-san went limp as the nerves were cut off. Freed's ears rung from the confused shouting and his adrenaline as he hauled Wren-sama and Bickslow-san upright and dragged them out of the circle of men, back into the network of alleys. Something whizzed past his cheek as they rounded the corner and Freed heard the black-haired man roar, "Get them! Don't let them get away!"

Freed had no idea where he was going or where he was leading Bickslow-san and Wren-sama as they were pursued by the already-recovering and very much enraged men. Every turn was made on impulse, every obstacle avoided by only the narrowest of margins. Freed had only planned how to get Wren-sama and Bickslow-san out of the mens' hands, if that far, and had no idea how to get away.

Wren-sama struggled to keep up, her leg was injured somehow. Bickslow-san shouted something at Freed, but he was still gagged and couldn't give directions short of body-checking Freed in the desired direction, which would only have knocked Freed over and gotten them all caught again. More and more projectiles whizzed past their heads, but Freed had no time to figure out what they were, only that they were dangerous and meant that their pursuers were close enough to see them despite the twisting nature of the streets.

The small projectiles that had been shooting past in increasing numbers all suddenly turned around and converged in the air. A solid wall of white formed where there had been a clear path moments before and Freed would have screamed in surprised fear as he bounced off of it had he had enough breath to do so.

Panic hammered an erratic beat in his ears as he twisted around only to find that the way they had come had already been blocked off by their pursuers. The black-haired man had his hand outstretched, fingers half-curled in a way that told Freed that he was the source of the sudden rustling wall. The man was saying something, but Freed couldn't hear him, all he could think of was that they were trapped and these were Magic Hunters and there was no Laxus-sama to save him now.

His right eye throbbed and he raised his Light Pen with shaking fingers only to have something small and white whip forward from the leader's fingers and knock it out of his grasp. Freed felt a sob rise in his throat, _not again not again please-please-Laxus-sama-_ Bickslow-san was snarling from behind his gag, the older boy pressing Freed between his back and the wall as if to shield him. Two of the thugs pressed forward, but suddenly Wren-sama was standing in front of Bickslow-san. She was hand-cuffed and helpless and so, so small. Yet when she hissed, teeth bared like an animal about to rip out throats, the men faltered and Freed could **feel** a deadly pressure fill the alleyway despite the anti-magic cuffs.

"She can't do anything," snarled the leader, "just take them already! The boy will have to come too, can't have loose ends running around crying for help." The men exchanged glances and advanced again, ignoring the pressure filling the alleyway and Freed felt despair choke his throat the same way panic was clogging his ears. _I should have run. I should have gotten help. Why did I think I could help? Someone, anyone, Laxus-sama, please!_

Hands reached out, Bickslow lurched forward futilely and was shoved to the side and against the wall-

Then the men weren't there anymore. Freed stared, unable to process it for a moment. Unable to process the sounds of nose bones shattering under a fist, the crack of ribs giving way for the foot driving into them or the sickening thuds of a head being grabbed and rammed into the nearest wall twice before being tossed away. He stared at the back of someone who hadn't been there literally a second ago and tried to wrap his mind around it.

It didn't click until Mest-san's voice —low and furious and **dangerous** in a way Freed had never heard before— cut through the shocked silence, "Don't. Touch. Them." The words pried the panic loose from his ears and shook the despair from his throat and Freed felt himself burst into quiet tears of relief.

Backup had arrived.

Mest-san glanced over his shoulder at them, his mouth half-open to ask another question when his gaze caught on the white wall that trapped them. His eyes widened and his jerked his head back around. Mest-san's attention zeroed in on the black-haired leader and his voice went tight with confused betrayal, "Ivan-san? How- **Why-** "

The leader —Ivan-san?— ambled a few steps forward and bared his teeth in a way that wasn't really a smile, "Mest-kun. You shouldn't have come." Mest-san gave a choked noise and Ivan-san tilted his head to one side, "But to answer your question, I am taking care of some … detrimental distractions to my son's development. It's the duty of a father after all. The boy means well, but he just cannot be trusted to choose the correct allies and influences on his own yet, you understand? This is for the benefit of Laxus. Of all Fairy Tail really."

Mest-san looked as if someone had just stabbed him, "W-what? I- what?"

Ivan-san gave a flippant roll of his wrist, "I know it's hard for someone your age to understand. You're only fourteen after all. But sometimes for the betterment of the guild, certain people must be … removed from the ranks. I wanted to do it discreetly of course, no need to cause a fuss, but then that **boy** had to interfere, and now you are here. So, Mest-kun, I'm going to give you a choice. Stand aside and let my men continue their work, or don't, and become a detriment to Fairy Tail yourself same as them."

Freed felt fear crawl back when Mest-san didn't respond for several seconds. Was this Ivan-san right? Was this some kind of Guild Rule that Laxus-sama hadn't told him about? Were they about to be sold to Magic Hunters because they were a burden to Fairy Tail? A burden to Laxus-sama?

Ivan-san narrowed his eyes, the not-smile still firmly in place, "Well, Mest-kun? I don't have all-"

Freed registered the pop of teleportation magic only after Ivan-san was sent reeling back into the arms of his startled men while Mest-san stood in the mid-point of the alley, fist extended from the punch that had split Ivan-san's lip. Mest-san's voice had taken on the low, rough edge of danger again as he hissed out, " **Traitor**."

Ivan-san straightened up and spat out something white. He smiled again and Freed saw that there was a bloody gap to his leer that hadn't been there before, "Very well, Mest-kun. Your choice." White slips —paper?— swirled into being around Ivan-san's arms as he snarled, "Kill him. He's won't be worth enough on the market."

The four remaining men lunged alongside the two masses of paper and Mest-san turned into a blur of magic pops and afterimages as the fight began. One man threw a punch, fire licking his fist as he bellowed a war cry. Mest-san disappeared an instant before the fist made contact, reappearing directly behind his opponent and kicking him in the small of his back so that he staggered.

One of the masses of paper hurtled in on his location and Mest-san teleported again, reappearing above the man he had just kicked and land hard on his shoulders, driving him into the pavement. Mest-san backflipped as a sword appeared in the second man's hand and he slashed the air where Mest-san's back had just been.

Freed felt his breath catch in his throat as one of the paper … arms? Tentacles? Caught up to him in mid-air and sent Mest-san flying into the wall. Mest-san disappeared in a flurry of white and a pop of magic, reappearing behind the third man to slam his foot into his opponent's head with a flying spin-kick. It was different from watching Laxus-sama or Bickslow-san fight, Freed realized dully as the third man went down hard and the swordsman tried to stab Mest-san out of the air.

Back when Laxus-sama and his _Raijinshū_ had rescued them, or when they were all training together, it was easy to forget Mest-san's fighting ability. The attention was always stolen by Laxus-sama's flaring lightning, Bickslow-san's whoops and the chitter of his laser-tikis, Cana's shouts and her many tarot cards. Even Wren-sama was eye-catching when she deigned to be visible at all, her shadows were terrifying that way.

Mest-san's magic wasn't flashy like the other _Raijinshū_ , but it was fast and now that Freed was watching it, it was actually scary. Mest was there and gone in an instant, disappearing for a blink only to reappear anywhere. Above, to the side, even below. His fists and legs lashed out, holding his own against the four men —now reduced to the stubborn swordsman and the fourth man who had some kind of magic lasso— and Ivan-san, hitting an opponent only to disappear an instant before reprisal arrived. Only Ivan-san, with his veritable whirlwind of magic paper, had managed to land any hits on Mest-san, the thin edges cutting Mest-san's clothes and drawing red lines across his exposed skin that made Freed's stomach lurch.

The man with the lasso finally went down, taken out by a leg sweep and an axe-kick. Freed saw the sword flash through the air and Mest-san teleported away moments before it could cut his neck. Ivan-san was snarling now, both hands extended as he controlled his hurricanes of paper that chased Mest-san back and forth across the alley.

"Freed!" The hiss broke Freed out of his trance, jolting his attention back to Bickslow-san and Wren-sama. Bickslow-san was looking over his shoulder at Freed, blood trailing sluggishly down his temple as he shook his handcuffs pointedly, "You need to get these off! We have to help him out and get out of here!"

Freed blinked once, then nodded shakily as the stupidity of just standing there, watching while Mest-san fought by himself sunk in, "R-right." He dropped to his knees and searched frantically for the Light Pen that Ivan-san had knocked from his hands earlier. _Where did it go? Where did it go?_ His eyes finally caught on his Light Pen, pinned beneath one of the men that Mest-san had knocked out when he first arrived. Freed crawled forward and tugged on the end of the Light Pen, trying to pry if from underneath the large man with the shattered nose.

An explosive hiss from Wren-sama and a sharp cry of pain from Mest-san jerked Freed's attention up from his trapped pen. Freed felt his stomach drop and panic begin to crawl up his throat again as he saw that somehow, within the short span of time Freed had stopped watching, Ivan-san had finally managed to catch Mest-san.

 _Oh no … oh no…_ Mest-san snarled as he struggled against the mass of paper holding him against the wall. He jolted forward briefly and Freed saw a look of confused panic cross Mest-san's face before he rasped, "How? I can't…"

Ivan-san was giving his not-smile again as he recalled some of his paper, peeling away the slips to reveal a pair of anti-magic handcuffs dangling from one of Mest-san's wrists, "I didn't get to be an S-Class mage for lack of foresight, **boy**. Just because the children were my target does not mean I would be so stupid as to not bring several spares." Freed looked back down at his Light Pen and began to pull even more frantically. He knew he had no chance against this Ivan-san —especially not if his claim was true and he was an S-Class mage— but he had to do **something**.

Mest-san gave a strangled noise as the paper holding him began to swirl tighter, so tight that Mest-san had trouble breathing. Wren-sama lurched forward and Freed shrieked in surprise as the paper wall that had been blocking their way dissolved and split into three parts that slammed Wren-sama, Bickslow-san, and him into the wall. "Ah, ah, ah," rumbled Ivan-san as he leered in their direction, "You have caused quite enough problems." His gaze shifted back to Mest-san, "Now, Mest-kun, hold still, this won't hurt … for very long." Ivan-san's fist curled, the razor-sharp paper slid up to Mest-san's neck-

Pressure unlike anything Freed had ever felt slammed down on the alley. It was all encompassing, a presence that pressed against his skin and curled around his magic core in a way that should have been stifling but wasn't. Ivan-san staggered with a startled gasp, his body hunching in on itself. Paper peeled away and fluttered to the floor and Freed grunted in surprise as he slid down the wall to the ground. Freed looked around in surprise, his mind scrambling to figure out where the pressure was coming from and why Ivan-san had suddenly let them go.

Then he saw the figures. There had to be at least a hundred of them. They crowded both ends of the alley and perched on the roofs and fire-escapes above his head. Several broke apart from the masses on the ground, hurrying to Freed's and his friends' sides and recognition clicked just as a voice —one that was power and pressure and **thunder** made manifest— rumbled through the air and rattled the cobblestones, " **Ivan**."

Freed looked up past Enno-san, past the carpet of discarded paper figures, past the brilliant golden flame of aura that surrounded the speaker and found himself staring into the glowing eyes of Master Makarov.

Fairy Tail had arrived.

And they were **furious**.

.

.

* * *

 **Next chapter will cover exactly HOW Ivan got his hands on Wren and Bickslow as well as continue with Ivan's well-deserved comeuppance via fragged off Fairy Tail. On a side note, Ivan is a a very underused villain, has anyone else noticed? I mean, he's an ex-member of FAIRY TAIL. The last villain who was an ex-Fairy was HADES and he was hax on so many levels. Not that I think Ivan would ever be anything like Hades level of scary, but seriously, a villain who has been exposed to and lived with Fairy Tail Luck/Crazy for years (and is the son of Makarov and the progenitor of Laxus) should have been way more dangerous than he was in the Grand Magic Games. Just a thought.**


	31. Chapter 30: Retribution

**Yes. I know. This is a pathetically tiny chapter compared to my usual ones. But the chapter wanted to end where it wanted to end and I couldn't extend it without sound horribly awkward. To make up for the tiny chapter, I am also posting a companion chapter for this in Detours, so make sure to go read that after you read this. AFTER you read this one NOT BEFORE, otherwise the one-shot will make no sense. Also note that I'm going to put the Review Response and the Author's Note at the bottom so you can just hurry up and read the chapter without feeling like I tricked you via the word counter or anything. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty: Retribution**

 **(Six months, three weeks, two days since joining guild).**

.

Rihanna felt the tension and terror in her body unwind at the sound of a single word, a single realization, and felt tears rise up instead. Fairy Tail had arrived. All of them. Just in time. Beside her, Bickslow gave a quiet hiccuping noise, just as overwrought with relief as she was that it was finally going to be over.

It had just been a simple errand. Wakaba had infiltrated the kitchens again and ruined some of their cake supplies, so Master Makarov had sent the two of them out to buy some more from the local shop. It was an easy task, harmless and simple and probably assigned to them more to get Bickslow and his antsy tikis out of the building than anything else.

But then as they had passed by a narrow street on the way back to the guild, a magic lasso had whipped out of nowhere and pinned them together. They had been dragged across the empty street before Rihanna had had sufficient time to process the situation. By the time she had registered the full scope of the threat and called for her shadows, two other men had already dragged Rihanna's and Bickslow's arms behind their backs and bound them with handcuffs that cut off her connection to the shadows with a sickening jolt.

It had been Ivan. He had come back for the worst revenge he could think of, with several thugs as backup and a plan in place to sell them off to the highest bidder for their eye magic. All because Rihanna and Bickslow had stopped him from abusing Laxus the last time he'd been in town.

It had been like the storage shed back in Aternum all over again only **worse** because while Rihanna had magic, she hadn't been able to **use it** and Bickslow was there with her. Just as helpless but equally defiant and stupid enough to get himself hurt by insulting the men and fighting back.

Then **Freed** of all people had come to their rescue and they'd run away blindly, getting caught only for Mest to arrive and fight to protect them with a ferocity he rarely showed. But Ivan was cunning for all he was scum and Mest had been caught and she'd been sure he was about to **die**. And now Fairy Tail was here, **all of them** , and there was a magical pressure in the air that was simultaneously protective and murderous.

Master Makarov strode forward, his form still small but power shaking the air and cratering cobblestones with every step he took. Glowing eyes swept over the entire scene, then narrowed dangerously and turned to Ivan, " **How dare you** ," his voice echoed and vibrated through the walls of the houses, " **betray this family**."

Ivan's face twisted through a myriad of expressions, "Now Makarov, I can explain-"

Master Makarov cut him off, the fury of his voice rattling Rihanna's teeth. " **EXPLAIN? You have an EXPLANATION for why you have harmed my children? Made them cry? SPILLED THEIR BLOOD ON THE GROUND OF THEIR HOME? You think there is any excuse you can give to me for WHY YOU HAVE BETRAYED YOUR FAMILY?** "

Ivan recoiled from the living thunder that was the Master's voice, eyes widening with a flash of terror. Rihanna barely noticed that someone had undone her handcuffs. She was caught up in the tension that seared the air and filled every crack of pavement and breath she took. Ivan's face twisted into one of rage, "Betrayed? I am doing what is necessary! They are a plague on this guild! A plague to my son! I will not let your soft-heartedness for strays ruin Laxus's future! You would not remove them, so I had t-" Master Makarov had Benn bristling through Ivan's rant, but even he looked startled when an inhuman shriek split the air and lightning lanced out from among the crowd of infuriated guild members to slam into Ivan.

In the back of her mind, Rihanna remembered the anime. Remembered Laxus raging at Master Makarov for banishing Ivan from the guild. Remembered how that Laxus had respected his father, perhaps even idolized him, to the point where he would not listen to Master Makarov's reasons. There had been no excuse to that Laxus for banishing blood family, no forgiveness for banishing a father that in Rihanna's eyes was worth nothing but contempt.

But that was not Laxus now.

Several guild members moved forward only to be driven back by the wild sparks and bolts of lightning that poured off of Laxus's body as he physically mauled the man who called himself his father. Another shriek —inhuman and wild and livid— threatened to split Rihanna's eardrums as Master Makarov shook off his shock and reached out with an enlarged hand to drag Laxus away. Laxus struggled, his limbs pinned by Master Makarov's giant fingers. Electricity jolted and snarled through Master Makarov's hand with enough force to make the man wince faintly. But the attempt to get free was futile, Master Makarov continued to restrain his seemingly insane grandson.

Laxus's aura seethed off of his body and his teeth looked far more like fangs than any human's had a right to be as he suddenly screamed, "Thief! Traitor! **Traitor**! **Stay away from what's mine! I'll kill you for trying to steal them do you hear me? I'LL KILL YOU!** " Another shriek spilled from Laxus's lungs, transforming halfway through into something far more recognizable. The draconic roar had Rihanna covering her ears and only Master Makarov jerking the hand holding Laxus captive upward saved everyone in the alley from the ray of lightning. It filled the strip of sky she could see between the roofs of the buildings, shattering brick and sending the guild members perched above scrambling back.

The roar trailed off into a deep, throaty snarl as Laxus writhed in his grandfather's grasp. Master Makarov's rage briefly gave way to concern as he tried to talk Laxus down. After his attempts were only met with more snarls and spurts of lightning in Ivan's direction, Master Makarov whispered a magic spell that Rihanna couldn't catch. The effect swept over Laxus in an instant, the boy sagging in his grandfather's grasp as all of his energy seemed to slip away. Mest stumbled forward and Master Makarov passed the now limp Laxus to him before all gazes swung back to Ivan.

Rihanna barely noticed Bickslow shuffling her and Freed to rest against Mest's side, next to the groggy Laxus. Her primary focus, like the rest of the guild, rested on Ivan as the man staggered to his feet. Despite the hate Rihanna felt for him, she felt her breath hitch a bit as his hands slowly lowered from his face to look up at Master Makarov. _He definitely didn't have_ ** _those_** _in the anime._

Through the blood, Rihanna could see at least twelve deep gouges running crisscross down Ivan's face, weeping rivulets of red. The gouges had missed Ivan's eyes, but with the way he had one eye screwed shut and his hand still hovering near it in clear pain, he had just barely avoided losing it. Rihanna breathed out slowly and tried to decide if she felt sick or vindictively satisfied. _Laxus did that … he did that with his_ ** _bare hands_** _._

If Master Makarov felt anything about seeing the damage his grandson had inflicted upon his son, he didn't show it. Instead, Master Makarov's voice deepened to a more melancholy but firm state of his previous rage, " **Ivan**. **You have broken the laws of Fairy Tail. You have conspired with Magic Hunters to sell innocent lives. You have premeditated the harm of a fellow guild member … and you have attempted to murder one who you should have called family.** "

Ivan's open eye widened, "Makarov, no-"

Master Makarov raised a hand, " **For your sins against this family** ,"

Ivan recoiled from the hand, even though Rihanna couldn't see any spell forming, "Don't do this to me, Makarov!"

The Master's outstretched fingers curled, leaving only the middle and index fingers pointed at Ivan, " **For the betrayal of Fairy Tail** ,"

"Don't!"

" **I, Third Master of the Fairy Tail Guild** ,"

"Makarov!"

" **Banish you from Fairy Tail. From our lives, from our records, and from our family. From this moment forth, you are no longer one of us.** "

Ivan's face twisted and, for the briefest second, Rihanna wondered if he had truly thought his actions were for Fairy Tail's benefit. If he had truly cared, " **Father**!"

Master Makarov stared at Ivan for a long second and Rihanna could feel how everyone held their breath in the silence that followed Ivan's cry. Master Makarov's face didn't change, it seemed to be carved of glowing stone, " **You are no longer my son**." His fingers swiped the air and Rihanna sensed a wave of magic pass from the Master to Ivan and back. A look of devastation flashed across Ivan's face, the deep scratches on his face pulling even farther open as his expression warped and crumbled and suddenly Rihanna realized what Master Makarov had done.

He had erased Ivan's guild mark.

Even though she was just a rookie member of Fairy Tail, Rihanna knew the importance of guild marks. Master Makarov had personally sat her and Bickslow down and given them a long and fervent lecture about marks and what they meant to the mage community. The lecture had put so many little things in the anime into perspective. Yukino's devastation over erasing her own guild mark, Future-Lucy's last wish being to see the hand she had lost, Laxus crying at the end of the Fantasia Arc. It all made even more sense after the lecture.

Guild marks were more than just a way to tell who came from which guild, they were a badge of honor, of identity, of **self**. One's guild mark was nigh-on sacred to a mage and to erase a member's guild mark was to erase their place from the history of the guild, to render all of their prior deeds null, and any reputation gained while bearing the mark completely void. It was why even retired guild members still bore the mark of their guild to the day they died and why memberships were treated as lifetime commitments barring extenuating circumstances.

To willingly erase one's own mark was to show complete contempt for not only the guild, but also to yourself and everything you had been while in the guild. To have it erased by the guild Master meant you were not only an outcast, you would be forgotten, you would be shunned, you would become **nothing**.

Master Makarov turned away from Ivan, not acknowledging the look on his son's —former son's— face. Master Makarov nodded to some of the guild members, his voice reverting to normal as his magical aura faded away, "Gather them up and take them to the Rune Knights. Make sure the Knights know to search this district for their stash and inform them that these are the men who have been working with the local dealer they've been tailing."

Ivan recoiled from the grim-faced Fairy Tail members, struggling against their hands as four of them grabbed his arms tightly and forced his hands into one of the anti-magic handcuffs Ivan had brought along. Through the blood still weeping from his wounds, Rihanna could see devastation warp into something far darker, "Don't you do this, Makarov! Don't turn your back on me!" Master Makarov gave no acknowledgement, he merely continued to give quiet orders to the stoic guild members as they tied up Ivan's thugs or approached the _Raijinshū_ with bandages.

Ivan lunged against the hands holding him, " **Don't turn your back on me** , **Makarov**! I will ruin you! I will ruin you and your **precious guild** for this, do you hear me? I will burn your guild to the ground for this and take the Lum-"

All of the magical pressure that had begun to fade after Master Makarov's judgement slammed back down a hundred-fold. Master Makarov didn't turn around, but when he spoke, Rihanna heard the threat of death in his voice, "Do not say that name, Ivan." Ivan opened his mouth again, but the Master of Fairy Tail cut him off, "If you ever **dare** to breathe those words to **anyone** **ever again** , the Rune Knights will **not find enough of you left to bury**. So says the Third Master of Fairy Tail."

Guild members froze in confusion, but Ivan had gone pale beneath the blood on his face. His mouth clicked shut with an expression of shocked terror that told Rihanna that Master Makarov was absolutely, deadly serious.

Ivan let himself be dragged away with his unconscious thugs without another word. But Rihanna could see the darkness in his one open eye, and wondered if anything like this had happened in the anime to breed Ivan's hatred. If this was why he had created Raven Tail.

"Wren-sama?" Rihanna looked up at the sound of Freed's quavering voice. The rest of the _Raijinshū_ were already standing, with Mest supporting a quiet, woozy-eyed Laxus on one side while Bickslow supported him from the other. Evergreen had joined the group at some point, her skin pale and her gaze frightened behind her glasses. Rihanna couldn't find it in herself to muster up a smile, so instead she just signed tiredly, _"It's over. Let's go home."_

As the others nodded and obediently began to shuffle Laxus home to the lighthouse under the worried gaze of the rest of Fairy Tail, Rihanna wondered if anyone else had caught her lie. She'd seen the look in Ivan's eyes, it wasn't over. Men like that didn't just let go of a grudge. Then she shook her head and told herself it didn't matter right now.

Ivan might not be done with Fairy Tail, but now that he was no longer a member, if he came back …

Well. None of them had any reasons to hold back anymore.

.

* * *

 **Review Response: Dear Dragon Lord Draco, greetings! I hope that lived up to your expectations! Ivan didn't get as hard a smackdown as I would have liked, but emotionally he had a big one and those gouges are definitely going to scar, so, yeah. Mest alerted the guild by sending Evergreen back to get help (they rendezvoused at Kardia Cathedral remember?) and I'm glad you think he and Freed did such a good job. Mest did hurt Ivan actually, split his lip and knocked out a tooth. Not much in the grand scheme of injuries, but still impressive against an S-Class. Really! Cool! If you like, I'll PM you some basic information about it, though please note the title is still a test title, I plan on changing if before publishing.**

 **Dear Lightsbane1905, hello there! Yes. Yes he did.**

 **Dear Keiolsha, hi! I'm going to assume that the chapter adequately answered your question on Laxus's point of view. If it didn't, then yes, Laxus is going to have a different mindset from now on. Or at least, he'll work on it.**

 **Dear Maxiforce, greetings! Not quite dead yet, but he's in a lot of pain and is going to rot in jail for a while. Hell will have to wait a bit longer for him.**

 **Dear BlackDove WhiteDove, hello! So happy you think so! Good, that was my goal. Freed is an adorable little hero of the hour, isn't he? Well, even if Laxus-sama says she isn't actually a demon here to devour the souls of the unworthy/disrespectful, Freed doesn't feel like taking any chances ;3.**

 **Dear Wicken25, hey there! Hmm, interesting theory, but I must respectfully disagree with it. Ivan chose his magic (in my head canon), and he IS shown to have massive potential. In GMG, he cast an illusion so powerful and subtle that not even two Ten Wizard Saints, the entirety of Fairy Tail, a retired council member, or the Rune Knight commentator had any idea it was an illusion. That takes both skill and power which was frustratingly nerfed when it came to the actual fight against Laxus. But oh well.**

 **Dear Guest123, greetings! Glad you liked it! As I believe is covered in both the previous chapter and this one, all of Fairy Tail currently in Magnolia is present and very, very unhappy. Aw, thank you, I'll put up a notice in my profile when I get it published!**

 **Dear Some Random Dude, hi! Thrilled to hear it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well and don't forget to check on the companion one-shot in Detours that goes with this!**

 **Dear EmberFlame03, hello there! Well, technically he did. You know, for character development. But I'll try to give him a break in upcoming chapters. He is new to Fairy Tail after all. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Dear Naliyu, hey there! He is. Not permanently (yet) but for a very long time. Really? Cool, mean's I'm doing my job write!** **(yes, that was a terrible pun, no, I feel no shame.)**

 **Dear Gingerfury, hello! Wish granted! Laxus is the one who clawed up Ivan's already ugly mug. I've been meaning to give Mest some spotlight, because I think he's cool. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Dear Draconicflare, hi! Congrats on finishing your last test! hmm, I'm having a bit of trouble answering your review since most of your questions/reactions are answered either in the previous chapter or this one... but here goes. Oh, there will be Christmas craziness later. LOTS of Christmas craziness (laughs and anime sweat-drops at the same time). Well, even street rats can be caught off guard if you do it right. Normally it would have been a ways away, but Wren being here upset the timeline for it. I'll explain more in the Author's Note below. I hope you enjoyed Ivan getting mauled and dragged off to jail, because that's the last we'll see of him for a while!**

 **Dear WolfGirl1, greetings! You really think Wren could plausibly become a Wizard Saint? Cool. Yep, Ivan's gonna be in jail for a while. Magic Hunters are NOT approved of by the council and there are serious penalties for being involved in that business.**

 **Dear YumiKnowsBest, hello! I actually own both volumes of Ice Trail and I do intend to incorporate it into this story soon. I just have to wrap up this arc and have a Christmas chapter (that will hopefully be on time) and then we'll be time skipping to Gray's arrival. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Dear snowleopard314, hey there! Both are perfectly reasonable emotions with perfectly good reasons behind them. Ivan is very hatable. I'll explain Ivan's actions and motivations in the Author's Note below, but Wren's black hole was entirely the reason for his dive into the deeper levels of depravity. You'll have to wait and see how Wren's presence affects that area of the timeline, I can't say anything else for fear of spoilers.**

 **Dear Arthanos, greetings! Glad you enjoyed it! He's going to be away for a while. Good riddance right?**

 **Dear Sweets and Tarts, hello! So, just a quick thing, but can you not make such a long 'aah' like that again, please? It was amusing, but you quite literally broke the review page that it is on. Now whenever I try to read reviews on that page, the reviews are all stretched out like crazy and my web-page tries to freeze. Makes answering these reviews tricky. Moving on, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Really? Cool. If you like, I'll PM you a basic summary of the story along with the other requested information. Maybe even a teeny sample of the book. Only if you want me to, of course.**

 **Dear Ghostunderasheet, hi there! Not a bad theory, but our head-canons differ on those points. I don't think Ivan is weak, just underutilized by the author. As for Laxus's Dragon Slayer Lacrima, it works differently in this story. But still, you have some valid points on Ivan. There is something wrong with that guy. Well, in my defense, I didn't force you to read this instead of working on your paper (hope that went okay, by the way). I am very flattered you did though.**

 **Dear Captain343Spark, hey there! (offers tissues) Good. It means I'm doing my job correctly.**

 **Author's Note: So! Explanations and announcements and stuff. First off, I know this chapter is small (only thirteen pages actually), but there is a one-shot in Amongst Untrodden Ways: Detours that might help tide you over some more. It's the events of this chapter from Laxus's perspective to explain what was going through his head when he tried to gouge Ivan's eyeballs out (not that we all don't agree with said course of action). On a random announcement, if anyone want's to look up what Wren looks like as an adult, google Taylor Swift with curly hair. It's not exact (Wren has hazel eyes and is shorter for one thing) but since my drawing skills are terrible, that's the closest I could find as an example. At the very least, that's what I mean when I say Wren has curly hair. None of that Shirley Temple/anime pile driver curls that I see sometimes in anime.**

 **On to explanations: First up, Ivan's motives. So, the reason Ivan came back and stooped to trying to sell of Wren and Bickslow to Magic Hunters is not solely because of Wren's Black Hole eye magic. The main reason is because they are influences that Laxus was clearly attached to who could not be cowed into obeying Ivan. That means they are dangerous to his plans for Laxus. Not only could they influence Laxus into no longer obeying Ivan, but if they went and told the guild (or convinced Laxus to tell) then all of Ivan's hard work would be ruined and he would be kicked out of Fairy Tail. He saw them as dangerous to his ideal of a strong son and a strong guild, so he tried to have them discreetly removed. We all saw how badly that backfired, but there you go. Also, yes, Ivan cared about the guild in a twisted sort of way. In my head, he is a major driving reason behind Laxus's attitude/obsession with strength in the original Fantasia Arc. He does not agree/understand Makarov's ideals of Fairy Tail, all he sees is that the guild is his (his father is the Master after all and Ivan was an S-Class mage) and so he needs to keep it 'strong'. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Ivan's idea of "strong" is very, very warped, which is why he abused Laxus and why he felt no qualms in trying to kidnap/kill the Raijinshū.**

 **Also on Ivan. I didn't get to cover this in the story, but Ivan's cooperation with Magic Hunters is not a new thing. In my head-canon, he's been making/using underworld connections such as Magic Hunters for YEARS. How do you think he managed to get his hands on an ultra-rare lacrima that probably should have been in a vault some where for the sole purpose of saving/strengthening his sickly son? Makarov made if very clear in the anime that he didn't approve of Laxus using the Dragon Slayer magic inside the Lacrima, so I can't really imagine him approving/helping to acquire that lacrima in the first place. It was all on Ivan. In exchange for the Lacrima and other dealings, Ivan has been covering for the local Magic Hunter dealer in the Magnolia area for years. He is even in charge of a major drop-off/pick-up point for Magic Hunters in that area. Being a high-ranking member in Fairy Tail allowed him to throw Fairy Tail and the law enforcement off of the trail for years. Which is what Makarov was talking about when he ordered the guild to take them away. The Rune Knights had finally been tracking down one of the Magic Hunter hub dealers and there was already evidence that someone from a legal guild in the area (they didn't know which one) was involved and covering the tracks. Makarov saw what was going on in the alley and put two and two together.**

 **Random Timeline Note: Just in case you guys are wondering, Makarov never found out about Ivan's connection to the Magic Hunters in the original timeline. Ivan was originally banished when Laxus was 15 because he was caught trying to steal Lumen Histoire, then escaped before Makarov could catch him, hurting guild members during his escape. It would explain why Makarov was so set on finding Ivan again and why his banishment is never explained to Laxus or anyone else. Makarov can't tell the rest of Fairy Tail about Lumen Histoire, it's bad enough that Ivan knows. Of course, because of Wren, Ivan has been banished two years early and is also going to jail for a long time because of his exposed underworld connection, so there you go.**

 **Also, yes, Makarov would legitimately kill Ivan if Ivan tried to tell anyone about Lumen Histoire. It's already been stated in the manga that it is a potential weapon of world-ending proportions and Makarov, as guild master, is sworn to keep it safe at all costs. Ivan knows that, so he is definitely going to be keeping his mouth shut about it (at least for now).**

 **I think that's everything. Don't forget to go check out the one-shot companion piece to this and have a lovely day!**


	32. Chapter 31: Fallout

**I back already! You AUW readers are really getting a treat this December, because you're getting THREE, count 'em, THREE chapters this month. Retribution was the first one, then there's this one Fallout and the next one (and the sole reason I'm updating so quickly in a row) my Christmas special chapter (named so because the thing is insanely long. Like, genuinely the length of a novella). After that, this story will probably be quiet for a while, because I will be out of pre-written chapters. But oh well. I'm going to have my Christmas chapter be on time for Christmas darn it! (ahem) Moving on.**

 **Review Response: Dear Dragon Lord Draco, greetings! (grins) Now THAT is the kind of response I was hoping for. He and Evergreen were both alerted by Freed's flash of light and then the racket of the alley chase. Mest told Evergreen to go get help literal seconds before he teleported in and punched out the bad guys who were about to grab Freed, Wren, and Bickslow. Evergreen hoofed it back to the guild for backup and Mest managed to hold Ivan off until the guild all stampeded to the alley for payback. Glad you think so, they are members of Fairy Tail after all, for all they aren't part of the anime Main Cast.**

 **Dear , hello there! Team Natsu will start trickling (slowly) in after the Christmas chapter that comes after this newest chapter. I'm not sure about what the dynamic with the AU Raijinshū will be yet, other than Erza will come to consider Wren her senpai (as hinted at in chapter one of my one-shot collection Amongst Untrodden Ways: Detours). I'm glad you're eager to see Team Natsu show up, but willing to wait while I meander over at my own pace. I'll try not to take too long (no promises though).**

 **Dear RedWolf Lover, hi there! Why would I stop doing something I'm so good at? But if it bugs you for some reason, then introspection/philosophy chapter alert, cause this newest one is going to be a doozy! Was it? Huh. Well, it isn't like I can tell when people are in the middle of rereading my story. Heh, I'll take that as a compliment! Might want to hold off rereading this story until you've read this chapter (or the Christmas one that comes after) though.**

 **Dear Guest, hey there! Yes! You had to take ten on behalf of the bad guy, my work here is done! Well, not really, because I have to reach the anime series and stuff, but still, I'm thrilled to hear it had such an impact! I'm actually pretty pleased with how the Ivan confrontation went down, but I was worried that my readers would want more ... flashy violence in it than it did. Good to know that isn't the case here. Aw, don't worry, I have no plans for killing poor Mest, he's grown on me a lot. You're welcome, I hope you continue to enjoy this and my other stories!**

 **Dear Sweets and Tarts, hi! It's okay, just don't do that again please. The review thing can't handle one that long. Enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear YumiKnowsBest, hello! Oh I have PLANS for Ivan. Long-reaching plans... (rubs hands together and cackles). Not sure who other than the Raijinshū will be caught up in them, but knowing Fairy Tail and Team Natsu, they'll probably end up involved somehow. Won't be for a while though.**

 **Dear Kuna Longshanks, hi! (tips hat) I do my best! Also, thank's again for drawing Wren's picture! I can hardly wait to see how it turns out!**

 **Dear Ori Heartlyng, greetings! He is very bad-aft. And the entirety of Fairy Tail isn't anything to sniff at either! It's fine, I'm just happy to see you're back and that you enjoyed the chapter! Yes, that is blatant foreshadowing, but it will take a while to come to fruition. In the meantime, enjoy the wrap-up to the Ivan Exile arc!**

 **Dear Arthanos, hey there! He became one of my favorites after that arc too actually! Though he and Jellal tend to tie for me because of their stories/development. Ivan got lots of scars, he deserved every one of them. Well, you didn't have to wait long! This time around anyway... I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Dear Guest, hello there! Why thank you. And no, Ivan is not a good guy. He is one of those self-righteous people who refuse to think that they are anything but right and anyone with a differing opinion/facts is wrong/is an obstacle to be removed. Ivan is very morally corrupt, he doesn't truly care about other people aside from how he can use them. He did believe he was doing what was best for Fairy Tail, but only Fairy Tail as HE sees it/can make use of it. He doesn't actually care about the guild (though he admittedly thinks he did), just the resources that it provided him. That's why he called Makarov by name rather than "father" until the very last, they had a very distant relationship starting from Ivan's teen years, though Makarov tried not to show it around the rest of Fairy Tail. For instance, Laxus in the Fantasia Arc is more of what you're thinking about good guy doing the wrong things for the right reasons. Laxus honestly cared about the guild and wanted to make it stronger, but A. didn't understand what true strength was (thanks to Ivan), B. had massive personal issues with his grandfather (again, thanks to Ivan), and C. really lost his temper toward the end of the Arc there. Ivan was just doing it because the Raijinshū's existence threatened his power plans. Wren wondered briefly if he had really cared, but honestly, he doesn't. Not in the way Wren thinks of a 'care'. Does that make sense?**

 **Dear EmberFlame03, greetings! Happy to hear it! Enjoy the next one!**

 **Dear Nof, heya! Well, thank you for your compliment! Even if Wren is technically not an SI ... though she does share my sense of sarcasm and a few other traits... Wren is never going to ask Makarov for her voice back because it is impossible. If Porlyusica (the woman who can regrow EYEBALLS) declared her vocal cords unsalvageable, then not even Makarov can fix her voice. Wren never going to speak with her vocal cords in the story. Ever. However, that does not mean she cannot 'talk'. As demonstrated in previous chapters (and especially in this newest one), Wren has developed an entire unique sign language all her own that the Raijinshū and most of Fairy Tail can understand. Save for a few words here and there that she has not invented a sign for, Wren can basically hold any conversation she likes with Laxus, Bickslow, etc. Plus, as pointed out by other reviewers in earlier chapters, there's always the possibility of her learning Telepathy later when Warren deigns to show up (I'm working on it). I hope that makes sense?**

 **Author's Note: So, this is the wrap-up chapter for the Ivan Exile Arc, I hope you enjoy but major angst alert for most of the chapter. This is, after all, called fallout and Laxus just lost both his father and Fairy Tail has just been betrayed by someone they thought was one of them. I hope this chapter is understandable, because I'm not lingering to clear up any misunderstandings (you can ask in reviews though, I don't mind). I'm going to time-skip after this, first to Wren's first Christmas with Fairy Tail, then to Gray showing up in Magnolia. After that ... we'll see. Also, for anyone who also reads AMOSC, I have the next chapter, I just need to edit it and post it. It will probably be up sometime after Christmas. I've just been busy/on an inspiration high on this story right now, I haven't forgotten AMOSC. For any readers of Ballad of the Femme Fatale ... also working on it. I've got a bit of a writer's block with that story, but I haven't given up on it. It will just take longer. I think that covers everything, so onward!**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-One: Fallout**

 **(Six months, four weeks since joining guild)**

.

Rihanna sat in the unofficial " _Raijinshū's_ Corner" and watched the November birthday party unfold. Presents were being given, cake distributed, and mugs of either cider or something stronger passed around to the various members. To an outsider's perspective, it was a great party and everyone was having a blast, but to Rihanna, it was very … subdued. Tense.

Nothing had been set on fire, nobody had smashed cake into someone else's face, nobody had been discreetly stuffed down the throat of the giant piñata again, and ninety-eight percent of everyone present was still sober. By Fairy Tail standards, it might as well be … if not a funeral, then something similarly solemn and unhappy.

It had been five days since Ivan had been outed and banished from the guild, and everyone was still feeling the effects of the betrayal. Their guild could bounce back from a lot of things, roll with a lot of punches thanks to Fairy Tail Luck but … the betrayal of one of their own was different.

The trust between members, even members who didn't know each other well, was absolute. That trust, that faith in any who shared the mark of Fairy Tail was one of the things that held them together through the many disasters and shenanigans that dogged their footsteps. To have someone who bore the mark —who was the son of the **Master** — turn out to be not only a traitor but a murderer and a Magic Hunter was a bitter and nigh-on inconceivable pill to swallow.

It had shaken them, shaken their perception of the world, had threatened to shake their faith in each other. Even as members banded together to shore up that faith, the sheer scope of Ivan's treachery was more than even Fairy Tail morale could shake off in a mere five days. Rihanna suspected that this betrayal would take far longer to put behind them than the vast majority of the world-ending events that had happened in the anime. She couldn't blame them. Even if she had always known that Ivan was scum, they had trusted him for years, had been fooled by his smiles and lies and pretty words for Mavis knew how long.

The disquiet had hit the _Raijinshū_ the hardest. All of them had been on edge since the incident. Porlyusica-san had been called in to see to their injuries and the fury in her eyes upon hearing how they had gotten them had been enough to tell Rihanna that if Porlyusica-san had been there, there wouldn't have been death threats. Ivan would have been dead in that alley, no questions asked.

Bickslow was on training restrictions for two more days until his ribs finished healing. Freed and Evergreen were twice as clingy as before. Cana had issued everyone her experimental tracking cards out of paranoia, and the deep cut on Mest's neck —the one that had almost slit his jugular— was going to permanently scar because of some kind of magic-staining effect. Rihanna herself was on training restrictions for another four days —the thugs had managed to re-injure her leg in the same place she'd been injured during the Pirate Incident— and Laxus…

Laxus worried her.

Ever since his moment of dragon-esque insanity in the alley, he had been quiet. Not his usual calm quiet, but a dark, brooding, sharp-edged quiet that made living in the lighthouse suffocating. He hovered constantly and grew agitated the moment any of them were out of his sight. Rihanna had woken up seven times over the past five days because she had sensed him prowling the lighthouse at night, patrolling over and over for non-existent threats.

He hadn't cried, he hadn't raged, he had completely canceled their training for the time being, and his appetite had become noticeably smaller. Master Makarov had taken him aside a day after the incident, but according to Laxus's grudging report —she'd had to level the Look at him for five solid minutes before he'd told her anything— it had only been to pry a promise out of Laxus to not use his Dragon Slayer Lacrima again. Something about it effecting his mental state too much to be safe.

Rihanna was sure that Laxus had no intentions of keeping the promise —not with how overprotective he'd become— and Master Makarov's apparent lack of addressing Laxus's feelings over Ivan's betrayal made her feel very peeved at the Master. She knew he was very busy dealing with the fallout of a Fairy Tail member turning out to be working with Magic Hunters, and was grieving the betrayal of his only son on top of that, but it was still no excuse for ignoring Laxus.

"Laxus-sama?" Rihanna refocused on the outside world at the sound of Freed's tentative voice. The other _Raijinshū_ were already staring at Laxus in alarm and concern and a moment later Rihanna saw why. Laxus had halfway unwrapped one of the presents he had gotten for his birthday but was now frozen, his breathing tight and his fingers clenched so tight on the box that it was beginning to crumble. Bickslow reached out a hand to touch Laxus's shoulder, "Hey, are you okay-?"

Laxus stood up without warning, the present falling from his fingers as he gave a strangled sound in the back of his throat. He brushed past Bickslow and Mest, ignoring the concerned questions that followed him as he suddenly stormed across the guild hall to the bar where Master Makarov was quietly overseeing the proceedings. Rihanna had no chance to stop him or give a warning as he lunged forward onto the nearest barstool and slammed his fist into Master Makarov's face.

There was a shocked silence across the entire guild hall as Master Makarov fell back, his mug spilling across the floor as he was nearly knocked off the bar by the blow. Laxus didn't say anything, didn't wait for the shock to wear off and the angry questions to start, he just bolted out the double-doors at a dead run.

Cana squawked in horror and Bickslow's tikis shrieked agitatedly. Mest took a half-step forward to chase after Laxus when Rihanna grabbed his arm to stop him. Her eyes sought out Master Makarov's as he sat up, rubbing his punched chin and looking tired and grave. Their gazes met and despite herself, she glared at him. He had deserved that punch. He might have been the third Master of Fairy Tail and a grieving father, but he was also a **grandfather** and he should have checked on his grandson's emotional state before now.

Something shifted in his gaze —shame?— and Master Makarov gave her a slow nod and began to stand. Rihanna peeled back her lips and hissed across the guild hall at him, causing Master Makarov to stop short in surprise and everyone else to look at her like she had gone mad. Rihanna released Mest's arm and signed a curt, _"Go to the lighthouse and wait there, no matter what,"_ to the _Raijinshū_ before she made for the doors herself.

As she passed by the bar, she pointedly did not look at Master Makarov. Partially because she did not want to see his reaction to her essentially ordering him around with her hiss —there would be a lecture for that later she was sure, Master Makarov wasn't **that** lenient—. But mostly because she had to focus on Laxus now. She knew Laxus, which was why she had stopped Master Makarov. Laxus wouldn't want to see his grandfather right now. He was angry, hurt, and he was blaming the closest thing to his father that he could right now, which was Master Makarov. He wouldn't want to talk to his grandfather, he probably didn't want to talk to anyone.

But he might want someone to listen, and if being mute had taught Rihanna anything, it was how to be very good at just that.

It took several minutes of hunting to find Laxus. She had gotten better at extending the range of her shadow sight, but there were a lot of places Laxus could have gone. In the end, she tracked him beyond the outskirts of town, past the trail that led to the lighthouse, past their usual training grounds, and deep into the woods. She moved slowly, cautious of any trouble she might run into instead of Laxus. She still remembered those blasted Vulcans from her brief sojourn through time and she had no desire to encounter them again.

Thankfully, she encountered no pervert monkeys on her journey and eventually came upon Laxus in a random section of woods. The sound of flesh hitting wood alerted her first, followed by the familiar prickle of static in the air. Rihanna stopped a few yards away, watching as Laxus mindlessly slammed his bare fists into the trunk of a tree again and again. Tiny jolts of lightning danced off of his shoulders, but he did not use any of his magic, just continued to punch the rough bark over and over and over.

Rihanna gave a silent sigh and raised a cushion of shadows between Laxus's fists and the tree with a flick of her fingers. Laxus's next blow stopped short of the shadow. He didn't look at her, "Go away, Wren." Rihanna didn't move, she just waited and held the shadows in place. Laxus's shoulders tightened to the point they shook, "I said **go away**."

Rihanna stayed where she was, waiting. Laxus's breathing took a harsh note and he slammed a fist against the shadow cushion as he growled, "Go back to the party, Wren." There was something bitter and savage in his voice, an edge that she didn't like. It gave her a sense of deja vu to the Laxus before the Fantasia Arc had ended. Bitter, demanding, cold. Not like the Laxus she had come to know.

 _"_ _You're not happy."_ It was hard to convey even the simple sentence with just whistles, but he seemed set on not looking at her.

Laxus made a low noise in his throat and buried another shaky fist in the shadow, "I'm fine."

 _"_ _Liar."_

"I'm **fine**. It's just another November, just another birthday party." He punched the shadow, "It's not like my team were almost **stolen** and **murdered**." Another punch, harder this time, "It's not like all of Fairy Tail wasn't just **betrayed** a few days ago." Another, hard enough that Rihanna could feel the vibrations through her connection to the shadow, "It's not like one of our **own members** was collaborating with Mavis-cursed **Magic Hunters**." Two blows in quick succession, the lightning was getting stronger, curling down his arms and snapping at the air with barely any restraint, "It's not like it wasn't **my own father who did it all**!" Another punch, thunder roared and Rihanna flinched at the sensation of lightning burrowing into the shadow. Rihanna held her tongue, she waited. No reaction, no judgement, no pity, no lectures, no platitudes. Just a silent, open ear. The air stilled, tension mounted, Rihanna waited.

The dam broke.

Laxus raged. He yelled and he screamed, he punched and kicked and uprooted trees with the force of his lightning. Storm clouds covered the cold November sun and thunder roared with hurt and pain and betrayal. The ground churned and rocks shattered as Laxus howled. As he cried.

It wasn't just the pain of his father's betrayal and exile, it was the pain of years of abuse and doubts and hurt. It was the fallout of a stubborn, desperate faith that had been shattered and ground uncaringly into the dust by the heel of someone who should have treasured it most. It was the mourning of the love of a child which should have been returned unconditionally by the parent. It was the death of an innocence —a belief in family, in blood-ties, in trust— that never should have been tainted, let alone destroyed in one fell swoop.

It was all of Laxus's humiliations, all of his hurts that had been bottled up and sealed away by the tenuous cork of "surely he loves me, surely he cares, surely he doesn't actually…". It was the fallout of a collusion between the world-as-it-was and the world-as-it-should-have-been.

Rihanna would never tell anyone of what Laxus said that day in the woods. Of the secrets and the lies and the wounds —emotional and physical, the former so much longer-lasting— that had previously been hidden away. She would never tell anyone about the sins no child should see their father commit. The lies no parent should pour like poison down their child's ears and mouth until they threatened to choke on it. Until the child became unable to distinguish the lies from the truth and came to think of himself as **weak** and as **useless** and as **lesser** somehow than he should be. Less than he really was.

Rihanna would never tell of the bloodied knuckles and feet from all of his punches and kicks, of the accusations and vitriolic hatred that spilled out at anyone, everyone, anything, everything. She just stood there on the outskirts of the emotional and physical devastation, restraining her flinches and absorbing the pain that came from bringing up shadow target after shadow target and feeling them be demolished within seconds.

And if the rain that fell when Laxus's rolling magic forced the skies to open mingled with the tears that streamed down both of their faces as one of them broke and the other realized that for all of the power she had gained since coming to that world, she still could not fix what had been broken … well. She would never speak of that either.

She wasn't sure how long it was before Laxus finally exhausted himself, finally finished pouring out the poison that had been locked away in his soul. Noon had turned to late evening, but it seemed later because of the thick shadows cast by the storm clouds.

Laxus folded in on himself, his arms tight around his waist as he sank to his knees on the wet ground and went dreadfully still and silent. The magic that had choked the air with hurt faded and the rain that had been falling like sheets slowed to a faint sprinkle. Everything was still. Everything except for the shaking shoulders of the boy across from her as he clutched his waist like he was trying to stop himself from falling apart into tiny pieces. Maybe he was. Maybe it was already too late.

Rihanna scrubbed a tired wet hand over her face, trying to remove her own tears as she struggled with what to do. She couldn't fix this. She couldn't fix him. It wasn't her place, it wasn't anyone's place really. But she couldn't leave him like this. Couldn't leave Laxus in the silence and the rain and the tears and the smothering heartbreak. He was _nakama_. More than that even, he was her second eldest brother, and she could not, would not abandon him. She might not be able to fix anything that had happened to him, but she would not let him suffer alone.

Rihanna finally crossed the distance between them. She ignored the phantom aches in her limbs from how many of her shadows Laxus had destroyed and the fatigue that tugged at her from using so much magic. She was focused on Laxus and Laxus alone. With slow, deliberate motions, Rihanna wrapped her arms around his neck and drew his shaking head to the crook of her shoulder. She carded her fingers through his soaking hair as he shuddered, and refused to let go as he stirred and rasped, "Don't. Don't touch me."

Rihanna shook her head, her chin brushing against his hair as she did so. Laxus took a shuddering breath, then another, then whispered out the question that was at the heart of all of his previous rage, " **Why**?" _Why did he betray me? Why did he hurt me?_

 _Why didn't he love me?_

Rihanna squeezed her eyes shut and tasted salt in the raindrops that slid down her cheeks and to her lips. She pressed her face to his hair, and answered with a sad, feather-light kiss that said, _"I don't know. I'm sorry."_

Laxus shuddered again, his fury spent, but the heartbreak still there, "…My fault…" Rihanna stiffened and broke away from the hug as if she'd been burned.

Dropping to her knees on the muddy, lightning-gouged ground, Rihanna grabbed Laxus's chin and forced him to look at her as she signed fiercely, _"_ ** _No_** _. It is_ ** _not_** _."_

Laxus tried to avert his gaze, but Rihanna shifted to stay in his line of sight, "But if I- if I-"

Rihanna pressed a hand over his mouth, cutting him off as she hissed. Red-rimmed eyes stared at her in surprise and Rihanna struggled to pass on in minutes what had taken her years to learn and to accept. She lowered her hand from Laxus's mouth, _"It is not your fault. It never has been and_ ** _never will be_** _. It was all_ ** _him_** _._ ** _Only him_** _._ ** _He_** _made his choices, not_ ** _you_** _. He is the one in the wrong, not you. His mistakes are his own, his_ ** _sins_** _are his own and nothing you could have done or have done or ever will do will change that."_ Rihanna blinked back a fresh wave of tears as she remembered old realizations, remembered scorn and whispers behind her mother's back and the struggle to accept that everything that had happened was not Rihanna's fault.

Rihanna had not asked to be born. But she had been and her mother had **loved her** , even when she was a living, breathing reminder of what had happened and what kinds of men lurked in the dark corners of the world. It had taken years after learning how she'd come to be to accept that her mother did not hold it against Rihanna, that her mother did not regret the daughter she had never planned on having. That what her sire had done was and never would be her burden to bear.

The child should not have to carry the sins of the parent, especially not in this. She wouldn't —couldn't— let Laxus think otherwise.

Rihanna gathered her scrambling thoughts, trying to put them into signs that Laxus would understand, _"Some people … some people are just like that. They see the ugliness in everyone and they … embrace it. Revel in it. Sometimes it's because they've been hurt too badly, sometimes because they don't understand what it is to hurt at all. And sometimes … sometimes they know. They know happiness, they know love and sadness and laughter and … and they let the ugliness out anyway. They … it just comes out and twists them up and changes them until there's nothing left inside but darkness."_

She caught Laxus's gaze, _"Maybe they can't help it. Maybe they choose. I don't know. But I know it_ ** _isn't your fault_** _. Whatever he told you is wrong._ ** _He_** _is the one who should have loved you. He is the one who is weak. He_ ** _is_** _weak. Too weak to love, too weak to change, too weak to open his eyes and see that he had a brave, amazing, wonderful son. I know it hurts, but please, please don't blame yourself. People like him never take responsibility. It's always someone else's fault, someone else's weakness, someone else's problems. But that's a lie. It was and always will be_ ** _him_** _. Not Fairy Tail. Not Master Makarov. Not you."_

Laxus rubbed a hand over his eyes and gave a choked scoff, "How can you be so sure? You're just a kid, Wren."

Rihanna refused to let that hurt. Laxus didn't mean it, not in the way it sounded. She grabbed one of Laxus's hands and raised it to her neck, placing his fingers over her scar. Laxus went still at her action, grey eyes clouded and tense. She slowly let go of his hand and signed, _"Is this my fault then?"_

Laxus yanked his hand away from her scar, "What- No! You're the one who got hurt!"

 _"_ _Then it isn't your fault either. Ivan is the one who hurt_ ** _you_** _, not the other way around."_

He gave a hoarse growl, "That's not-" Rihanna just stared at him, daring him to finish that thought. Laxus's face crumbled again, "I don't understand…" Silence wove between them as Laxus scrubbed at his eyes and Rihanna struggled helplessly with how to convince him of the truth in her words.

Laxus took several deep breaths before he whispered, "If you're right … am I going to be like that too someday? Am I just going to … to choose to hurt everyone even though they- Even when they-" _even when they love me so much it breaks them when I leave them behind?_

Rihanna's mind flashed to the Fantasia Arc. To scornful laughter and stone statues and broken trust.

But then she thought of an impossible stand against an enemy he did not have to fight but chose to face anyway. She thought of dragons going to war against children. She thought of poisonous clouds that threatened to smother an innocent town.

She thought of scars that had not existed in the anime.

Rihanna swallowed hard as her hands twitched, tried to make signs despite the sudden fear that grasped her. She didn't want to say it. She didn't want to talk about it. But Laxus needed to hear it. Laxus needed her to say it. How could she leave a brother in need?

 _"_ _When I- when I first saw you, I didn't like you."_ Laxus flinched and confused hurt flashed over his face. Rihanna winced internally at her horrible choice of opening words but pressed on, _"I thought I saw someone who was arrogant and cold and stubborn and mean."_ The hurt on Laxus's face grew and he started to pull away from her but Rihanna caught his wrist and pulled him back down before he could get up and walk away, _"But then I saw him cry. I saw him admit his mistakes and apologize. I saw him move on, I saw him change."_ There was confusion more than hurt now, bafflement over her words because he knew how they had met and nothing like what she was describing had happened.

Rihanna swallowed her fear and kept going, _"I didn't see him for a while after that, but when I did, I saw him fight to protect people who were precious to him, I saw him trust that they would help him stand when he was knocked down. I saw him try to lead them to safety and then stand and fight at their side when they wouldn't run away from danger. I saw him fight against the monsters that wanted to destroy Fairy Tail again and again and_ ** _win_** _because he was all that stood between the monsters and his family."_

The confusion was fading into a very slowly dawning comprehension and Rihanna kept signing despite the terror that threatened to ice her veins, _"I watched and I realized that what I thought that arrogance was actually well-deserved confidence in his strength. I realized that his cold attitude was because someone had to stay calm when everyone else was afraid. I realized that his stubbornness was really determination to protect and strengthen his family. I realized that he was mean because he was_ ** _hurt_** _and that once he started to heal, he stopped being mean and became someone steady. Someone loyal. Someone so very, very brave and dedicated and I- I wished I could meet him. I wished I could be like him, even a little bit."_

Rihanna leaned forward and briefly pressed her forehead to his, _"Then one day I was being strangled and he came out of nowhere to save me."_ Laxus's eyes went wide and he gave a startled gasp as he realized what she had been saying, what she had been entrusting him with.

Rihanna smiled weakly, _"I_ ** _met_** _him, and I realized something else about him. That he was just a kid. A kid who wasn't the strong monster-slayer I had seen_ ** _yet_** _, but he would be. And until then, he needed to be protected when things got too rough, or when people lied to him and tried to make him think he was less than what he was. That he needed a friend. That … that he got lost sometimes, in the big wide world out there. That he got hurt sometimes. That he made mistakes and said things he didn't mean sometimes just like everyone else. That he needed to cry sometimes because there are days when it just … all becomes too much. I realized…"_

Rihanna eyed the ground for a long moment, struggling to convey everything she had seen in Laxus, everything she had learned. Then she looked back up, _"I realized that he was a_ ** _person_** _. Just like me."_

There was something in Laxus's gaze, something fragile and bright and Rihanna looked away because she couldn't stand to meet it, _"Everyone has the potential to be a monster."_ Memories rose, flashes of hate and rage and the desire to kill because **he-had-hurt-her-boys-** , _"There's a monster inside everyone somewhere. But that doesn't mean you're going to become a monster. Just because your father let his monster out doesn't mean you will. You're stronger than that. You can defeat it. And if you fall, or you ever forget how to beat it…"_ a plea from behind, begging for her not to go somewhere her brother couldn't follow, _"then I'll be there. The_ Raijinshū _will be there,_ ** _Fairy Tail_** _will be there. To help you get back up, to help you beat the monster back."_

Rihanna remembered the misunderstanding of the Fantasia Arc, how Laxus had just been trying to make Fairy Tail strong. He hadn't meant to be the bad guy, to be the monster, he had just been trying to help. He had been misguided and poisoned by Ivan for so many years, it was really a wonder he hadn't turned out worse. She tilted her head to the dark sky, then dared to look back at Laxus, _"And if the monster ever tricks you into letting it out, and you can't see that it's controlling you, I tell you, okay?"_

Laxus was staring at her with something akin to wonder, "How?"

 _"_ _A … a signal. Just between us. It'll be…"_ Rihanna scrambled for something, a hand-sign she could make that she wouldn't use normally, something distinctive and memorable. Slowly, she raised her left hand to her scar, the fingertips of her index and middle fingers pushing lightly against it while the others curled tight to her palm. Her right hand came up to her face, fingers curled like claws as she pressed the curled tips against her face and watched Laxus's expression from between her fingers. Laxus studied the sign for a long moment, then carefully mimicked it.

Rihanna lowered her hands and waited for Laxus to speak. Slowly, Laxus rested his hands in his lap, "Okay. Okay. I … I can remember that. It'll mean that the monster has gotten out and I need to stop what I'm doing right now. Right?"

Rihanna nodded, _"Right. And it will mean the same thing for me. If_ ** _I_** _ever start to go too far, you'll use that to tell me. Okay?"_

The taut line in his shoulders began to relax, "Promise?"

 _"_ _Promise."_

Laxus didn't smile, but the clouds in his eyes faded a bit and his gaze warmed, "Okay. It's a promise then." Rihanna managed a very tiny smile on Laxus's behalf, then pulled him into a hug again. This time, Laxus returned it instead of shying away.

Laxus broke away from the hug when a small gust of wind blew and made them both shiver violently. Laxus eyed the clouded sky as if it would tell him the time, then clicked his tongue, "We should go home. It's late and you're soaked. I don't want you getting sick."

Rihanna scoffed a bit —he was just as soaked as she was— but allowed Laxus to bundle her up in his jacket —not that it would help, it was drenched— and shepherd her back to the lighthouse. Silence hovered between them, comfortable and understanding, until they were walking up the path to the lighthouse door. Laxus abruptly stopped in the middle of the path and pulled Rihanna close, bending down to whisper in her ear, "Thank you, Wren. For telling me. I won't … I won't let you down." Rihanna swallowed hard at the reminder that she had shared what she had seen in the anime —even if only vaguely— with someone else for the first time. For a moment the terror came back, terror that he would insist on knowing more later, terror that this would somehow ruin everything farther down the line.

Then the terror faded because she knew Laxus, she trusted him. He had promised not to pry when he'd first learned of her supposed "future sight" and he wouldn't break that promise now. He also wouldn't suddenly change into someone else just because she had told him that she believed in him, had seen him do great things. He was her brother, just like Bickslow, and Mest, and even Freed. Perhaps more importantly … Laxus was Laxus.

She smiled into his wet shirt and hugged him tighter, hoping to convey her thoughts without her usual signs, _"I know you won't. I trust you."_ Laxus didn't say anything, but from the look in his eyes as he released her, she knew he had understood.

They continued the rest of the way up to the lighthouse and were promptly mobbed by the _Raijinshū_ the moment they were through the door. They were fussed over —Freed and Mest—, yelled at —Bickslow, Cana, and Evergreen—, and lectured —Bickslow and Mest in tandem— even as Freed mummified Laxus's bloodied knuckles with bandages in his enthusiastic attempts to help and Cana bundled Rihanna into warm clothes and blankets.

They both caught colds anyway —though Laxus's only lasted for a day because of his Lacrima—. Rihanna managed to convince Laxus to have an actual talk with his grandfather two days later and Laxus came back from it more … settled somehow. More like himself.

Things weren't completely fixed, Rihanna doubted they would be for a long time, if ever. But there was a calm now. A sense of stability and normality in the lighthouse that had been absent since Ivan's betrayal. Laxus started training and eating and sleeping again —though he still patrolled the lighthouse at least once a night—, and the _Raijinshū_ showered their leader with care and support at every turn.

And if sometimes, when no one else was looking, Laxus would raise his hand to his face with his fingers curled like claws in a silent question and look relieved when Rihanna shook her head, well. That was their business.

Just like it was their business if Laxus somehow started to know when to come sit with her and watch the lake on nights when her worries had her pouring over her future-knowledge-diary and scribbling what extra details she could remember. His steady, living presence gradually chasing her ghosts away until she would fall asleep on his shoulder and mysteriously wake up tucked under the blankets in her own bed the next morning.

.

.

* * *

 **There. Done with the angst for the moment. Next up, Fairy Tail Christmas! Hold onto your hats ladies and gents because it will be crazy!**


	33. Chapter 32: First Fairy Tail Christmas

**Here we are! The Christmas Special! Whoo! Also, I will stand no complaints about how long it takes for me to update this story after this chapter because THIS. This ... thing ... doesn't even qualify as a chapter in my books because it's length is by far and away the longest 'chapter' I have ever written for FanFiction. Ever. Don't believe me? The original word count for this thing is 17,611 words. That 103 pages in my word doc. ONE-HUNDRED-AND-THREE! Just. What even...? Nevermind. Relish this one, because I never plan on doing a chapter this long again. I'm also out of prewritten ones. If you all want to pace yourself, through this thing, you can separate it into five parts, as this chapter actually starts on the 20th for Wren and continues until Christmas day. Each day is marked in the chapter and is easily long enough to be a chapter by itself. In fact, if I'd been REALLY clever I would have separated this into five pieces and posted one a day starting on the twentieth. But I'm not, so moving on.**

 **Review Response: Dear Princesslostsoul, greetings! Glad you liked it! As for Warren, eventually he will show up and help Wren out, but at the moment he hasn't joined yet and I have a few other characters to introduce first.**

 **Dear Lightsbane1905, hello there! Too true, too true...**

 **Dear Thelonewolf87, hi there! Nope, sorry. Laxus and Wren are strictly very close siblings. I have someone else in mind for her, but she'll only meet him when she's older. Hopefully you'll grow to like the other guy in time anyway?**

 **Dear WolfGirl01, hello! Got it in one about Wren's mom! I'm glad you picked it up, I thought the clues might be too vague but I didn't want to make it more obvious. Wren is certainly going to try her best to prevent Fantasia and she does seem to be off to a good start doesn't she?**

 **Dear RedWolf Lover, hey there! (Cracks up laughing) Can I use those in a Christmas one-shot someday? Please? Those just- they sum up the Team Natsu Christmas experience so perfectly! (goes back to laughing hysterically at the mental images)**

 **Dear BlackDove WhiteDove, hiya! Glad you like it so much! And, not to sound like a sadist, but I'm glad my story makes you cry too, because it means I'm doing my job right. Hopefully this new chapter will cause more laughter and smiles than tears though.**

 **Dear Yatocat19, hello there! She'll get it eventually. But telepathy is a very rare and difficult magic, and shadows were more practical at the time. Hope you enjoy the new chapter and have a Merry Christmas!**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, heya! Well, she did her best. We'll have to see how it pans out later, yeah? Give Laxus time, his confidence in his non-monster-ness will return eventually. Well it deserves to be talked about for several review responses. Because they are awesome.**

 **Dear gryffindorandcats, greetings! Happy to hear it! I honestly didn't think of Freed making cookies, but he is just a kid, so he might not know the recipe yet anyway.**

 **Dear Arthanos, hello there! Awww, so thrilled to hear it! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and enjoy the Christmas special chapter!**

 **Dear Gerbilfriend, hi there! It isn't silly at all. Just be thankful you're safely in another dimension where you can watch the chaos from a safe distance and laugh instead of be in the midst of the chaos and probably freak out like Lucy (because let's be honest, Lucy is the only sane person with a functioning self-preservation instinct in the guild until Natsu corrupts her and that's why she spends the first few seasons freaking out so much).**

 **Dear Pixie, hello! For the answer to that question, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see (winks).**

 **Dear , heya! Well good, because there's some of that in this chapter on top of humor and Christmas cheer! Enjoy!**

 **Dear Natzed202, greetings! You're welcome and thank YOU for the wonderful compliments! I'm always really happy to hear that my writing makes someone else happy. I hope you enjoy the Christmas chapter and have a Merry Christmas yourself!**

 **Dear snowleopard314, hello! Well shucks (shuffles in quiet glee), that's a really high compliment, thank you. Enjoy the Christmas Special!**

 **Dear passerines, hi! Well! That IS a high compliment! I'm honored you decided to give my story a try despite not reading or watching Fairy Tail! You can be as pro-Laxus as you want, he's one of my favorites too (which is why he gets so much screen time). Since you like my story so much, I would recommend trying the actual anime if you ever have the time. The main cast is a different set of characters than the Raijinshū (and Wren is not present at all,** **obviously), but I personally find the show to be one of the best anime I've ever seen (if not THE best) and if you can have the patience to wait for the show to settle into it's unique rhythm, the characters and story are well worth it. In my own opinion of course. Have a Merry Christmas!**

 **Dear Innieminnie, hello! Glad you think so!**

 **Author's Note: So. There will be a completely optional little Christmas-theme blurb/speech/thing at the bottom if you want to read that, but for now, I have a bit of an experiment for you all to try if you want. Toward's the tale end of the chapter, a non-Christmas carol song will be heavily referenced. That will be Taylor Davis's version of the Fairy Tail Theme. I would like you to go pull it up on youtube before you start reading, but don't play it yet. Wait until you get to the line "there was no way she could have truly forgotten it". When you reach that line, really quick start the youtube, then pop back and resume reading the next paragraph and on. Hopefully, that will make the end of the chapter even more enjoyable. You may want to have a tissue nearby though... Anyway! I had a couple things I planned to say here, but I've forgotten most of them, so I think I will just say Merry Christmas, God bless you, and enjoy the chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this chapter. The only things I own are my OCs, who have run off with the plot.**

* * *

 **.**

 **Chapter Thirty-Two: First Christmas**

 **(Seven months, three weeks, two days since joining guild).**

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _Date: December 20th, X774. Location: Magnolia, Fiore. Weather: Partly sunny with no snowfall._**

Snow crunched underfoot as the Raijinshū trekked their way through the city of Magnolia toward the guild building. Evergreen huddled a bit deeper in her long, dressy coat, "Why do we have to head down to the guild building today? It's so cold. Can't we take the day off from jobs? We're more likely to turn into icicles than complete any request we take!"

Bickslow shot her an unimpressed look from over his scarf, "It isn't that cold, Ever."

Evergreen glowered at him, "Is too! I'm turning blue in this coat!" She paused, then added unhappily, "And don't call me Ever! My name is Evergreen. Ever. Green. Got it?"

Bickslow flapped a hand lazily before he tucked it back in his coat pocket, "Yeah, yeah, whatever, **Ever**. Either way, you don't have a right to complain about the cold until you've experienced an entire winter without a coat **or** a blanket waiting for you back home."

Evergreen's mouth snapped shut and she looked down at the ground in shame. Rihanna rolled her eyes heavenward, wondering if Bickslow would ever be able to make friends without antagonizing them to bits first. It had been over a month since Evergreen and Freed had joined the _Raijinshū_ , and Bickslow still did his best to wind Evergreen up at any opportunity. Unless Cana presented a better target at the time, of course, she was still his favorite to argue with.

Still, Rihanna refrained from intervening. She knew from experience that stepping in too soon with those two would just make it worse. Evergreen would just get scared of her and try to make excuses and Bickslow would take Evergreen's appeasing as some kind of challenge to wind her up again. She'd have to wait until they did something to justify a slap with her shadows.

Freed shuffled a bit further to the left unnecessarily to keep distance between himself and a random passerby, his head ducked down defensively. He didn't respond to the passerby's friendly call of, "Merry Christmas!" even after Laxus returned the greeting with a lazy wave and a smile.

Evergreen made another muted whine of complaint and both Bickslow and Cana looked ready to sic their respective weapons on her when Laxus barked over his shoulder without looking, "Evergreen, stop complaining, Magnolia is hardly the 'coldest place on earth'. Cana, put those cards back in your purse. Bickslow, no smacking Evergreen with your tikis."

Cana sighed as she slid her cards back into her purse while Bickslow's head tilted to one side mischievously. Rihanna was about to scold Bickslow when Laxus added, "No, you cannot set her coat, hair, or mittens on fire either."

Bickslow deflated, "Since when did you get eyes in the back of your head? That's Wren's job!"

Laxus huffed, sending a cloud of white steam into the air, "Don't need to, I've known you for six months now. Besides, Wren's been giving me tips." Bickslow shot Rihanna a look of betrayal to which Rihanna just raised an eyebrow sarcastically. _There's no way I'm dealing with all four of you without backup._

Bickslow grumbled something into his scarf but reluctantly let the matter go. Silence fell over the _Raijinshū_ for a few minutes, allowing the hustle and bustle of pre-Christmas cheer to wash over them instead. Most shopkeepers and townspeople had already put up their Christmas lights and decorations, making the entire town seem extra festive. Rihanna had noticed that Fairy Tail hadn't put up any decorations yet, and had debated to herself as to whether or not Master Makarov believed the guild building too big to decorate … or if he was going to turn the entire thing into an even bigger party/spectacle/debacle than the monthly birthday bashes.

Considering the fact that nearly the entire guild would be there for Christmas —including Newgate-san and his brood—, and that Fairy Tail Luck increased exponentially the more members were present, Rihanna was placing her bets on the latter.

Finally, Freed broke the silence that had been hanging over the group, "Laxus-sama, um, far be it for me to question your judgement, but is it really wise to go out on a job so soon? Porlyusica-san did put restrictions on what kind of missions we could take after the … Incident last month."

Laxus glanced over at Freed, a faint look of concern on his features, "Anything hurting?" Freed shook his head, causing more hair to flop over his right eye while the replacement eye in question blinked at Laxus shyly. Laxus shrugged, "We should be fine then. Besides, your Rune Magic is coming along really well, you could totally handle an out of town job with us."

Freed's face immediately lit up with the joy and determination of an acknowledged fanboy while his hands fisted eagerly under his chin, "I will do my best to live up to your faith in me, Laxus-sama!"

Laxus raised his eyes heavenward briefly before he returned his gaze to the snowy path before them, " **But** that is beside the point. We're not taking an out-of-town request today."

Cana shot the snow piled up on the edges of the sidewalk and in people's yards a look of distaste, "Please tell me we're not taking a request to shovel someone's yard or something."

Freed whirled on Cana in an instant, causing Rihanna to worry a bit as he began walking backwards in order to scold the Card Mage, "We will do whatever request Laxus-sama chooses for us and we will do it with every fiber of our being- **whoa**!"

Just as Rihanna had feared, Freed's backward walking stunt ended in his foot slipping on a patch of ice he hadn't seen and him toppling backward with a yelp. With a pull of her magic and a flick of her fingers, Rihanna caused Freed's own shadow to grab him and halt his fall. Freed blinked with wide eyes down at the shadowy arms clamped firmly around his waist from behind before he hesitantly found his footing again.

Evergreen hurried over to Freed with a worried hiss as the green-haired boy straightened up and dusted his coat off automatically, "Freed! Are you alright? You shouldn't do stupid things like that!"

Freed shot his step-sister a sheepish smile and waved off her concerns before he turned to Rihanna and bowed at the waist, "Thank you for saving me from that nasty fall, Wren-sama."

Rihanna waved his thanks off with a gloved hand and whistled a stern warning against doing it again. Bickslow dutifully translated for the newest members of their tribe, "Wren says it's fine, just to not do something stupid like that again, because we're out of splints back home and she doesn't want you spending Christmas in the hospital. Or Porlyusica-san's house."

Evergreen's and Freed's faces blanched at the thought of having to go to Porlyusica again so soon, especially after what they'd done to her garden by accident. The woman could hold a grudge to the end of time and felt no shame in extracting revenge via her medical treatments. Laxus drawled, "Amen to that. _Jiji_ would have my head if one of you got hurt outside of a job and you do **not** want to see how Porlyusica-san reacts to people who show up with injuries near or on Christmas. So be more careful, all of you."

Freed's and Evergreen's attitudes did near-instant turnabouts as they chorused adoringly, " _Hai_ , Laxus-sama!"

Bickslow snorted at the formal form of address, Cana snickered, and Laxus gave his three present senior _Raijinshū_ a look of long-suffering. He wasn't much for titles, and being called "sama" by kids only three years younger than him grated on his easygoing sensibilities. Still, no matter how many times he had told the two to just call him Laxus, they always tacked on a "sama" on the end. Rihanna didn't even bother trying anymore.

" **Anyway** ," Laxus said pointedly in order to cut off any further gushing from his two newest minions, "we're gonna be meet up with Mest and take a job in the guild building itself. So is every other member who happens to be in town right now, so be prepared for a crowd."

Evergreen nervously pushed her glasses farther up her nose so that they covered her eyes more thoroughly while Freed fiddled with the bangs that hung over his right eye, using his fingers to make sure they covered it adequately. His tone fell to a shyer pitch as he asked, "A job at the Fairy Tail building itself? Um, what kind?" _"Is this going to be another birthday party disaster?"_ Went unsaid but clearly heard anyway.

Cana began to giggle ominously while Laxus's lips quirked in a manner that indicated dry humor, "Oh, you'll see." _"It's going to be worse."_ Was how Rihanna translated Laxus's statement. She already had a sneaking suspicion as to what they would be doing anyway, and after seeing how Fairy Tail handled birthdays…

With that rather ominous ending to the conversation, the _Raijinshū_ minus Mest finally rounded the last street corner and the guild building itself loomed into view. Bickslow, Rihanna, Evergreen, and Freed all jolted to a stop in a mixture of awe, shock, and mild terror. Though for Rihanna, it was more a feeling of unwanted confirmation of a previous theory. _Called it. Christmas debacle._

The huge double doors were flung wide and members were bustling to and fro through them with boxes, piles of glittering tinsel, and in one notable case, a tree that had to be at least a story high.

The multi-layered, pagoda-style roof had become a road in and of itself, with ladders set up in strategic locations to allow a way up and down for the teams of mages all scrabbling about with literal ropes of Christmas lights and boxes of things Rihanna wasn't entirely sure she wanted to identify. It would have been an impressive scene of organization and Christmas spirit … if it wasn't clear that Fairy Tail Luck had struck already.

Namely, two of the ladders leading up to the lowest roof had fallen over, dumping the mages traveling up them into the snow-piles in a cascade of shouts, curses, and tinsel. One member was wailing pathetically while clinging to the flagpole on the very top of the building for dear life. Mest —who had apparently arrived earlier than anticipated— had somehow gotten stuck on tree transportation duty and —as was inevitable due to his pine allergy— had just sneezed uncontrollably, causing the Christmas tree and its moving team to teleport off to some random location.

To top it all off, hysterical screaming had started up from somewhere within the building itself accompanied by peppermint red smoke that literally **sparkled** in the sunlight as it wafted innocently out of the top of the double doors.

Freed and Evergreen shot wild looks at Laxus only to discover that he was completely unperturbed by the scene of rampant chaos before him. The wild looks shifted to Bickslow, who just shrugged uneasily, then to Cana, who blinked and commented, "Huh, they've gotten pretty far this year. I thought for sure the flags would be on fire again by now."

Finally, they shifted their pleading eyes to Rihanna, who raised her hands in a "what can you do?" manner while glumly noting to herself that, now that the initial shock had worn off, she also was mostly undisturbed by the sight before her. _Looks like a person really can be desensitized to Fairy Tail Luck. Huh, at least that explains why Fairy Tail doesn't have a guild psychologist, you don't really need one after the first few months._

Laxus started toward the doors, only pausing when he noticed that Freed and Evergreen were still frozen in place on the sidewalk with horrified looks on their faces. Rihanna suspected they were having flashbacks to last month's birthday bash preparations before Ivan had ruined everything. Laxus blinked at them, the lightning-bolt scar on his right eyelid showing up in its entirety for a moment as he did so, "Well? Are you coming or what?"

The two snapped out of their petrified trances at his voice and scrambled forward, "O-of course, Laxus-sama!"

Laxus barely spared the chaos happening outside of the building a glance as he went straight inside. Rihanna shot a dubious look at the peppermint smoke drifting high above her head as they passed through the doors. A quick, cautious sniff in the general direction of the smoke confirmed that it not only looked like peppermint, it smelled like it too. Rihanna exchanged a meaningful look with Bickslow and Cana as they concluded that someone not normally on the cooking staff had tried to sneak an earlier snack from the kitchens again.

Their suspicion was confirmed as a hysterically howling Wakaba barreled past them out the double doors seconds after they had stepped inside, a bright red magical fire cheerfully blazing away on his beloved pompadour. Leaving Wakaba to fling himself face-first into the snow, the _Raijinshū_ plowed further into the hectic guild hall in search of Master Makarov.

The indoor decorations were going better than the outdoor ones, thankfully. Though there was a conspicuously large blank spot in the far left corner of the guild hall where Rihanna suspected the errant Christmas tree belonged. Members darted back and forth, some clattering about upstairs while others worked on adorning the walls and support pillars with strands of tinsel and hanging Christmas garlands or ornaments on every possible surface.

Rihanna felt her mouth go slack despite herself. She knew that when Fairy Tail finally got their act together and finished decorating —which they would because they were stubborn like that— the entire building was going to be the most spectacularly decorated one in the entire town of Magnolia.

Laxus's voice broke through her awe, "Yo, _Jiji_!" Rihanna looked over in the direction Laxus was waving and finally spotted Master Makarov amid the chaos.

The old, tiny man in question was perched on the guard-railing of the second floor of the guild hall, a large beer mug in one hand and a placid look on his face as he observed the disorder. Looking down, Master Makarov raised his mug to them, "Laxus! What are you and your _Raijinshū_ doing here this morning?"

Laxus motioned with both hands to the activity all around, "What else? We're here to help prepare for Christmas!"

Master Makarov's face split into a happy smile, "Ah, of course, of course. Let's see if we can find something for you all to do, ne?" Taking a deep breath, the man proved the abnormal strength of his lungs yet again, "Enno! Come in here!"

Moments after his shout, which had startled three guild members into falling off of their stepladders and caused another to set the mistletoe on fire, Enno emerged from the kitchen with a frazzled look. The dancer wiped a bit of flour off her face with the back of her hand as she called up, "Yes, Master?"

Master Makarov motioned down toward Laxus and the waiting _Raijinshū_ , "More recruits just arrived! You want them?"

Enno glanced eagerly over, realized who they were, and her face fell, "E-eh, no thank you Master, I think the kitchen staff can handle it."

Rihanna valiantly tried to be insulted on behalf of her team … but there was a reason why only she, Mest, and Freed were allowed near any of the kitchen appliances other than the sink and the fridge.

Evergreen tended to add sugar to **everything** she tried to cook —which was a very bad idea for say, hamburgers or steak— and Bickslow continually set fire to things without any prior warning or explanation. Cana was actually semi-decent at cooking, but she lacked the patience for it and Bickslow had the tendency to aggravate her into using her cards in the kitchen, which inevitably ended in disaster.

Laxus had only been allowed to attempt cooking once. After that, he had been banned by unanimous agreement of the rest of the _Raijinshū_. Laxus had been too concussed and dazed from the electrical explosion at the time to argue.

Considering that the only thing he had been attempting to do at the time was boil some water … even Laxus agreed after the fact that the "Never Let Laxus In the Kitchen Unsupervised" rule was for the best.

Master Makarov stroked his mustache as Enno retreated into the kitchen to deal with the burning smell that had started to emit from it and studied the _Raijinshū_ thoughtfully. Finally, he snapped his fingers and grinned, "You can retrieve the Christmas Hat! After that, come back and I'll find something else for you to do!"

Ignoring the unhealthy pallor that had come over Laxus's and Cana's faces at the first command, Master Makarov chortled into his mug, "The way this has been going, we actually might have the decorating done by midnight this year!" He then scowled mournfully into his mug and Rihanna thought she heard him mutter something about the eggnog not being strong enough before Laxus quietly herded them away.

Bickslow cocked his head as they left the Fairy Tail building once again, "Uh, Laxus? Where are we going?"

Laxus made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a whimper, "To retrieve the Fairy Tail Christmas Hat. _Jiji_ doesn't keep it in the main building."

All of the _Raijinshū_ went alert at Laxus's almost plaintive tone and Freed twitched a hand toward his Light Pen, "Is it … dangerous, Laxus-sama?" It said something about her life that Rihanna regarded the question about the potential lethality of a **hat** seriously.

Laxus sighed, "Not in the usual sense no. It's just … big. Plus, we'll have to dust it off and make sure nothing's made a nest in it. Again."

Evergreen wrinkled her nose, "Ew. Why do we need some old infested hat anyway?"

Laxus shrugged as he led the way down an unfamiliar route through Magnolia, "It's for Fairy Tail's Secret Santa tradition."

Bickslow ran a hand through his dark blue hair as he queried, "What's that?"

Rihanna started to feel sympathetic at Bickslow's lack of knowledge on the subject but then she noticed Evergreen and Freed giving the same questioning looks at Laxus. _Is it really that rare?_ The lightning mage hummed neutrally before he explained, "A lot of Fairy Tail's members don't have blood family and there's way too many members for everyone to get everyone else a present. So, not long before the _Shōdaime_ died, she set up this neat idea of how everyone would get a present for Christmas without driving Fairy Tail bankrupt."

He looked up at the sky for a moment, "Basically, everyone just writes their name down on a single slip of paper, then that paper is put in a big hat and the hat is shaken really hard to mix up all the names. Then, the members take turns going up to the hat and picking out a name without looking. Whoever's name you get is the person you have to buy a Christmas gift for. You can't pick more than one name and if you somehow pull your own name, you have to hand it over to the Master for safekeeping and try again. Once your turn is done, your name is put back in the hat for someone to eventually pick."

Laxus sidestepped a large ice patch as he finished, "The Christmas Hat is the same one that was selected and used by the _Shōdaime_ herself. She enchanted the hat to be able to fit all the slips of paper no matter how many names there were and to also be as close to indestructible as possible. We tried to replace the Hat once, but the replacement hat couldn't fit all the names and then got blown up a few minutes later. So, we have to use the original Christmas Hat every year."

Cana snapped her fingers, "I remember that year. The explosion of the hat took out the eggnog bowl and set Alex-san's mustache on fire didn't it?"

Laxus nodded, "Yep. After that, we always stick to using the original Christmas Hat every year."

Rihanna almost tripped over thin air, _Mavis enchanted a hat? For a Secret Santa tradition? Check that, Mavis_ ** _invented_** _Secret Santa?_ The others looked suitably impressed as well —if for different reasons— but there were no more complaints about retrieving the Hat after Laxus's explanation.

They finally stopped in front of a large house whose size bordered on being a mansion with a sprawling lawn, wrought-iron fence, and engraved gate. Laxus pushed the gate open and led the way to the house/mansion, not even hesitating as he retrieved a key from underneath the welcome mat and unlocked the door.

Evergreen gave the house an appreciative look, "Who lives here, Laxus-sama?"

Laxus paused in mid-motion, something dark flickering through his gaze before he answered in a quiet voice, " _Jiji_ does, for the most part. My … **He** used to live here too, when he was in town." His lips twitched into a bitter expression for a moment before he added, _"_ This is the Dreyar estate. The Dreyars were one of the three founding families of Fairy Tail, so … yeah."

Rihanna gaped up at the mansion, barely able to comprehend that **this** was Laxus's house. Then she frowned, ignoring the oohs Evergreen and Freed were giving off as she realized that her previous thought wasn't entirely correct. This was the Dreyar's house, but it wasn't **Laxus's** house. Laxus lived with Rihanna, Bickslow, Cana, Evergreen, Freed, and Mest in the lighthouse. He had ever since that day several months ago when Rihanna had lost her temper at Ivan and almost killed him for abusing Laxus.

"Why do you stay in the lighthouse when you could be living here, Laxus-sama?" Freed's reverent gush broke her out of her thoughts and made her realize that they were now inside the spacious building.

The blond in the lead went stiff and didn't answer, but Bickslow did for him, "None of your business, Freed. He chooses to stay at our house, that's all that matters to us."

For once, Cana seemed to agree with Bickslow as she added moodily, "Besides, if the lighthouse is so tiny, why don't you and Evergreen move into your own apartment? Master would help you buy one if you asked."

Freed fell silent with a look of sudden comprehension while Evergreen looked very uncomfortable about the subject matter. No one really wanted to admit that the reason they never moved out despite how crowded it was, was because they didn't want to be apart. At first it had just been Bickslow and Rihanna, then Laxus had come over, then Cana's apartment had gotten caught in a bout of Fairy Tail Luck and **she** moved in, then Mest just kept crashing on the couch until it was officially his.

Then Freed and Evergreen had shown up and Porlyusica-san had put Laxus and the other _Raijinshū_ in charge of helping Freed recover from losing his original left eye and Evergreen had refused to leave his side. By the time Freed had recovered enough for him and Evergreen to move out, it didn't even occur to anyone for them to do so despite how crowded the lighthouse felt sometimes.

The _Raijinshū_ stuck together, it just … it just was. It was a natural state of being for them now. Even Evergreen —their resident raging Tsundere and denier of all things affection-related— and Rihanna —with all of her adult maturity and memories— couldn't imagine being separated from the others unnecessarily.

Laxus shot Bickslow and Cana a grateful look at their intervention before he announced, "The Hat should be … in the attic I think. I'll take you up there, but be careful okay? It's pretty dangerous. Plus, we'll have to clean out the Hat before we take it out of the attic, that's the rules."

Cana muttered something akin to, "If there are horse-sized rats in the Hat again, I'm going to throw an explosive card in there and have done."

Everyone other than Laxus blanched at Cana's mutter but obediently nodded and followed Laxus up the first of many sets of stairs. _I would ask myself just how dangerous an_ ** _attic_** _and a_ ** _hat_** _can be but … I know better by now. I just hope there are a lot of shadows I can use and that there's nothing too mind-breaking living up there._

Naturally, the universe took great pleasure in not only ignoring her request for a tiny bit of normalcy but actively curb-stomping it into dust. The curb-stomping was performed via two hours worth of running around an endless attic maze of junk, box avalanches, and a pack of cranky, horse-sized winged rats that did appreciate having an explosive card thrown into their nest, AKA the indestructible and bottomless Christmas Hat.

After escaping the attic maze that was at least twice the size of the actual attic, unearthing Freed from five separate box avalanches, rescuing Cana from the king of the winged rats —who knew rats had royalty?—, and putting out the electrical/tarot card/tiki-laser fires caused by an irate Laxus, a screeching Cana, and a freaked out Bickslow, Mest finally arrived and teleported them back to the guild hall with the blasted Hat just before the rat king catch up with them.

Upon arrival, Rihanna took one look at Macao trying to catch a pack animate gingerbread cookie men and promptly decided that she wasn't as desensitized to Fairy Tail Luck as she had thought she was. That, and that Enno was a saint for putting them on roof decoration duty. Because as frustrating as putting up lights on the slanted, snow-covered top roof without anyone falling off or Bickslow and Cana pitching each other off of the side was, it was nothing compared to being involved in the Gingerbread Cookie Revolt going on at ground level.

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _Date: December 21st, X774. Location: Magnolia, Fiore. Weather: Sunny._**

Freed wandered down the snowy streets of Magnolia's shopping district, hoping for something to catch his eye as the perfect gift for his Secret Santa. Wren-sama. Of all the names to pull out of the Hat, it had to be hers. He didn't know her very well, so it was going to be hard to pick out an appropriate gift. Granted, he didn't know anyone in the guild too well yet, but this was one of the people he had to be especially careful about accidentally upsetting. Wren-sama was a senior member of the _Raijinshū_ —despite her young age— and was both terrifying and Laxus-sama's little sister figure on top of that.

He couldn't even ask her what kind of things she liked in order to get ideas because of the Rules the Master had given right before the taking of names out of the Christmas Hat. The Master had been adamant about no swapping Secret Santa's and no revealing who's name you got to the person in question. Freed sighed and wondered if asking someone else in the guild would count as breaking the Rules. He really wanted to ask the other _Raijinshū_ about what Wren-sama liked because he was stuck, but he just wasn't sure if that would count as a breach of the Rules.

Plus, even if it wasn't a breach of the Rules, the others were probably too busy shopping for their own Secret Santas to deal with the questions of the rookie member. Freed quietly sidestepped an amused pedestrian, giving the barest polite nod to the person when they greeted him with a, "Merry Christmas!"

Once safely away from that person, Freed slowed to a stop and surveyed the area. Every member of Fairy Tail currently in Magnolia seemed to be bustling about in the market district, their trademark chaos and good cheer following at their heels. The boy shook his head in bafflement. _Why wait until just four days before the deadline to assign everyone a Secret Santa? Surely it would be less crowded and nerve-wracking to give everyone a longer time period. Then again, according to Laxus-sama, just before big events like Christmas and other festivals is the only guaranteed time that most or all of the guild members will be there._

Even the newly founded sea-board division of Fairy Tail —who were apparently former-pirates that Wren-sama had tamed— had arrived late last night, adding even more chaos to the preparations. Freed could even see Newgate-sama —the captain of the sea-board division and a giant of a man with a big smile and a laugh that shook the ground— on the other side of the shopping district. He was ambling from shop to shop, nearly bending double to see in the windows and laughing at something one of his adoptive children —who was perched on his shoulder like a bird— had just said.

Macao-san waved absentmindedly as he spotted Freed, who gave a shy wave in return before the adult mage had hurried on with a frantic expression. _Still, it's hard to think with every single member out here shopping-_ Freed stopped short at a sudden thought. _Wait. Everyone is out here shopping. So … that would mean Wren-sama is out here too, right? Maybe if I find her and follow her, I can spot something she seems to like!_ He deflated slightly, _though it will be hard to tell what she likes and what she thinks her assigned member likes. I guess I really might have to risk asking one of the others._

He decided to try finding and following Wren-sama first, as that had the least risk of breaking the Rules. With that shaky plan in mind, Freed began to search the market place for a certain small, curly blond head and its silent owner. It took almost two hours of scanning the streets and peering inside shop windows before he finally spotted her amid the hustle and bustle of the market district.

She was inside a clothing store, staring at fancy dresses with a heavy frown of frustration on her face. Freed mirrored it unconsciously, _she can't like fancy dresses with a face like that. She looks totally lost on what to get too. I suppose you don't pick up much feminine fashion sense living on the streets and then living with a mostly boy team. Still, at least now I know that her Secret Santa is a girl._

Disappointed that he was no closer to finding a gift for her than before and that it seemed like she would be stuck in the clothing store for a while, Freed made to move away. Then she glanced out the store window and spotted him. Her face lit up in an instant and she waved frantically at him to come inside. Nervous, but bound by the Rules of Etiquette to go greet her at the very least now that he had been spotted, Freed pushed the store door open and slipped inside.

The bell above the door tinkled faintly at his entry and Freed scurried over to Wren-sama, " _Ano_ …hello, Wren-sama. Can I … help you with anything?"

Wren-sama nodded and fished something out of her coat pocket before shoving it forward for his inspection. It was a crumpled piece of bright green paper, the same kind they had used to write down all the member names and put in the Christmas Hat. Freed took it gingerly and unfolded it. He blinked at the name "Evergreen" curling neatly across its surface in his step-sister's familiar handwriting.

Freed passed the paper back to Wren-sama, "So, you got Evergreen?" Wren-sama nodded, an unhappy look on her face as she stuffed the paper back into her coat pocket. Expressively, she motioned with both hands to the store in which they were standing and possibly the other shops beyond and then shrugged helplessly. Freed pieced that together quickly, it wasn't a hard thing to guess, "You have no idea what to get her for Christmas?"

Wren-sama nodded again and gave Freed a pleading look. Freed bit his lip briefly in thought even as he made a mental note that it was apparently not against the Rules to ask another guild member for advice, "Well, she does like dresses, but I'm not sure she'd like anything in this store. It isn't … as high-class as what we're used to."

He received a wide-eyed stare for that comment and admitted shyly, "We used to have all our clothes tailor-made." The incredulous look increased in intensity and he shifted uncomfortably, "Though, considering we lost all of those clothes when … um, you know, she could probably use a new dress." A thought struck him, "Oh! Or a handheld fan! She used to have a beautiful handheld fan that she used for etiquette class. Never went anywhere without it. But it got broken just before we … left."

A light of dawning comprehension lit Wren-sama's eyes and she smiled at him. She gave a quick whistle that he loosely translated to be a thank you and then darted out of the store. Freed paused, wondering if he was supposed to follow or if he was free to go, then concluded that he was probably safe to continue on his own personal quest.

Which he still had no idea how to complete.

Freed sighed and left the clothing store in search of someone who knew Wren-sama better than he. At the rate he was going, he might just get an idea by the end of the day and be able to purchase the gift the next day. Assuming that his budding Fairy Tail Luck didn't strike and cause the item to be sold out.

Several more hours of searching and questioning ensued during which Freed managed to locate first Laxus-sama, then Mest-san, only to have his tentative question met with a helpless shrug and a half-hearted suggestion. Laxus-sama had suggested new earrings, but then had added that she never seemed to mind wearing anything other than her first and only pair even when she had the money to get more. Mest-san had given Freed an embarrassed look and admitted that he didn't really know what Wren-sama liked. No one did, as she was always so easygoing and practical in everything she did.

"Sometimes I forget she's just a kid and not a really short adult like Master Makarov," Mest-san had admitted sheepishly, "she strikes me as the reading type, but she still has so much trouble with her letters that she can barely read a decent picture book, so I don't think that would be the best gift idea. Sorry I can't help more, Freed-kun."

Freed sat down heavily on a street bench, feeling cold, defeated, and agitated. The Secret Santa tradition was one of the Rules of Fairy Tail with its own sub-set of Rules. If he failed to get Wren-sama a nice gift, he would be breaking not only that Rule, but also its sub-Rules. The thought made the skin around his left eye twitch and his palms sweat within his gloves.

Logically, he knew that Fairy Tail had given no sign that they would punish him or kick him out or harm him for breaking one of the Rules, but that was because he had never broken one of them before. He had researched guilds back at the mansion and he knew that every guild had Rules. He also knew that breaking those Rules was cause for exile from the guild or even imprisonment by the Magic Council. Like what had happened with Ivan-san after he betrayed Fairy Tail.

Granted that was an extreme example and while he doubted that he would be imprisoned or exiled for breaking the Secret Santa Rule, especially by accident, it did seem like a very important Rule of the guild. Perhaps important enough to get suspended from taking requests, which would disappoint Laxus-sama greatly.

A shiver of fear and dread swept up his spine at that thought and he hugged himself in an effort to ward it away and think rationally. As he looked frantically around in an effort to distract himself from his panic, he spotted something across the street. It was Wren-sama. She had a bag of some purchase or another already in her hand, so Freed concluded that she had already finished picking out and purchasing a gift for Evergreen.

So why was she staring so intently into that shop window? Curiosity and a flicker of hope sparked through him and Freed slipped stealthily across the street for a closer look. By the time he had pushed through the still humming crowd of other shoppers, Wren-sama had disappeared from the sidewalk. Freed felt a moment of panic until he realized that maybe she had entered the shop itself.

Following the hunch, he slipped carefully inside the shop and looked around. Trying to remain as unnoticed as possible —especially by the shop employees who would ask what he was doing in there— Freed peeked down various aisles and around corners. It was a small store, but it had so many nooks, crannies, and shelves crammed inside it took him almost ten minutes to find the object of his search.

Freed froze in mid-peek at the sight of Wren-sama. He watched with wide eyes as she caressed an item with gentle, loving hands, having removed her gloves in order to actually hold it and perhaps keep any residual outside moisture away from the item. Though he couldn't get a very clear look at her face, he could tell by her body posture and what little he could see of her expression that she wanted it very, very much.

He watched for several minutes as Wren-sama flittered back and forth between similar items in their displays only to come back again and again to the first one he had seen her tentatively touching. He watched in surprise when she even took a handkerchief out of her pocket —since when did she carry one?— and rub it gently over the item she had touched as if to wipe away her fingerprints. When she was done cleaning the item with her handkerchief, she slipped the cloth back into her pocket and began to turn around. Freed hastily hid behind a shelf, heart hammering as he hoped she wouldn't notice him.

Much to his relief, Wren-sama moved to the front of the store via a different aisle, not spotting Freed in his poor hiding place. Freed smiled to himself as he waited to make sure she had left the shop, _maybe Fairy Tail Luck really does have some good aspects as well._

Once he was certain that Wren-sama was no longer in the shop or near enough to look in the store window one last time and spot him by accident, Freed went in search of a store employee. The tall young man who was stocking shelves looked up in surprise when Freed cleared his throat. The man quickly recovered and smiled at him, "Oh, hello, I didn't realize there were any customers in here. Can I help you with something?"

Freed took a deep breath to steady his nerves and call up his etiquette lessons. Bowing slightly at the waist, Freed answered, "Actually, I'm hoping to buy one of those? It's a Christmas present for a friend." He pointed in the direction of the display Wren-sama had spent so much time over.

The employee, after following the direction of his gesture, smiled broadly, "Really now? What size and make will your friend be needing?"

Freed blinked once, then twice, "…Does it matter?"

The employee burst into chuckles before going serious, "Yes. How about we go over there and if you'll answer a few questions about this friend of yours, I can help you pick one out."

Freed hesitated, remembering how Wren-sama went back again and again to one particular item, "Actually? I think I already know which one I want."

The employee paused, raised an eyebrow at him, then shrugged, "Okay then, show me which one you want and then we'll pick out everything that goes with it."

Freed resisted the urge to blink again, "…Stuff comes with it?"

The employee laughed good-naturedly and Freed felt his ears grow hot despite how cold it was outside.

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _Date: December 23rd, X774. Location: Magnolia, Fiore. Weather: Lightly cloudy._**

There was a war going on on the grounds behind the Fairy Tail building.

This was something to take note of. Because while the members of Fairy Tail took something akin to pride in regularly beating the stuffing out of one another, there was rarely ever an actual **war**. One in which sides were taken, lines were drawn, and screams of battle or pain tore the air.

Years later, members would never be able to agree what exactly started the One-Day Christmas War, just that it had happened and that it had been utterly glorious. And despite the lack of true knowledge, many theories were still bandied about as to what exactly had triggered the entire thing.

Some people said it was the stress of having to do all their Christmas shopping a mere two days before Christmas Eve, which was the deadline for when presents were to be wrapped and placed under the tree to be admired until the actual day of Christmas. Other people said it was all the fault of the children members being too rambunctious and setting off everyone else. Still other people argued that it was because the new type of precious, bone-warming and life-sustaining hot chocolate Thatch had introduced them to had run low and members had been desperate to be the one who got the last mug.

The generally accepted opinion was that the hot chocolate in question had been spiked with a magical energy draught again. Severus, the previous hot chocolate supplier of the guild and who was also their resident potion mage could be petty like that.

However, whatever other factors —such as Severus or the hot chocolate shortage— might have been involved, the _Raijinshū_ knew the truth about how the One-Day Christmas War had started and that was a secret they had all agreed to take unspoken to their graves.

It was all Bickslow's fault.

Well, to be fair, it was also Evergreen's fault for reacting so horribly to a friendly snowball to the hair. And Freed's fault for jumping to his step-sister's defense when his snowball aim was so terrible that it hit Laxus, who was cold and grouchy on the exact opposite side of the field as Bickslow.

Finally, an argument could be made that it was Laxus's fault for retaliating to getting a snowball down the back of his coat by using his Lightning Magic to create a railgun-snowball.

Which he promptly sent whipping through the nearest window at high speeds, nailing Master Makarov right in his open mouth.

Just as Master Makarov had been lecturing the other antsy guild members about not fighting inside the guild hall until after Christmas was over and there wasn't a Christmas tree to risk setting on fire.

Laxus would forever insist that the entire matter could have been avoided if Freed had simply taken the glowing, crackling railgun-snowball like a man instead of dropping to the ground with a girlish shriek of terror.

Rihanna would forever call them all over-competitive idiots in the privacy of her own mind and strive to change the subject when asked about it. She was also usually busy keeping Cana from falling out of her chair laughing whenever anyone brought it up in conversation with them.

But however the One Day Christmas War started —and however people would talk about it years after the fact— it was a terrifying sight to behold in the present. You didn't simply have every single member of Fairy Tail and it's sea-board division —minus the absent Gildarts Clive, the laughing Newgate-san, and the scowling Master thank the First— out in a large field with too much energy and literal hills of white, wet ammo and not expect everything to go to pieces.

Which was why Rihanna was sniping off other Fairy Tail members by throwing snowballs in Shadow Form. She asked herself yet again why she bothered to stick around in the war zone when the other _Raijinshū_ not only had everything covered on their end, but were actually enjoying the entire mess.

Another lightning-empowered snowball rocketed across the field. It slammed into the back of a Fairy Tail member's head, knocking him unconscious the same instant that the snowball disintegrated under the force and heat of Laxus's throw. _Right. That's why. My conscience insists I stay and make sure nobody dies from this insanity._

Rihanna glanced over her shoulder to check on the rest of the _Raijinshū_ —who had claimed an entire corner of the field and were steadily conquering the rest of it— and blanched. Dropping Shadow Form, she ran over and grabbed Freed's hand before he could touch his Light Pen to his snowball. She frantically tried to whistle a no, but her lips were too cold from being outside and running around. Freed looked at her in impatient confusion, seeming to understand what her frantic grip meant without any whistles needed, "But the others are using their magic too! It isn't against the Rules!"

Rihanna flinched as another railgun-snowball cracked the air. It missed, causing screams of surprise and panic to rise. The good fortune of those who had ducked was swiftly destroyed by Mest teleporting in, dumping buckets of snow down their coats and then teleporting away before they could retaliate.

Bickslow's tikis whirled by on another dive-bombing run of the field, a small pile of snowballs somehow balanced on each of their tops. Cana was making piles of snowballs then storing them in her cards and flinging the loaded cards over the battlefield to unleash a veritable avalanche on her victims. Evergreen had just discovered how to use her Fairy Magic to turn her pile of snowballs into a magical, artificial machine gun. _By Pantherlily…_ Rihanna turned a pleading look on Freed, not wanting him to fall to the madness of the others.

The green-haired boy had a look of adoration on his face that was so intense Rihanna thought his eyes might have actually turned into anime stars, "Such enthusiasm Laxus-sama! I can do no less!" He shook off her grip on his arm and resumed scribbling runes on the surface of his snowball while Rihanna despaired.

She turned to retreat to Bickslow's side when another guild member lunged from around a pile of snow and tackled the boy in question with a war cry. Bickslow yelped and retaliated by shoving a handful of snow down the member's coat, which in turn was avenged by his opponent slamming the back of his head into the snow and shoving more on top of his face.

Rihanna slapped her face in exasperation, not even looking up as she obeyed her instincts and ducked into the shadows in time to avoid a snowball that was actually **on fire**. Giving up, Rihanna went to go find Levy and Marco and join them in their impregnable, flaming word fort to wait out the chaos. _I give up. Let the idiots maul each other for all I care._

She had only gone a few feet from the _Raijinshū_ when Laxus yelled, "Wren! Get back here! The _Raijinshū_ stand together! We'll win this fight!" _Maybe I shouldn't have given him tips on how to keep track of everyone after all._ Reluctantly, Rihanna obeyed the command of her "chieftain" and resumed helping the other _Raijinshū_ take the field by storm.

She sniped off Macao with a well-aimed shadow-enhanced snowball to the ear, the man going down with a wail of pain that was greatly over-exaggerated in her opinion. Wakaba, ever his partner in crime, fell to his knees melodramatically and Rihanna watched in disbelief as the pompadoured man wailed out a speech for his fallen friend as if Macao had actually been hit by a bullet or something. The performance was complete with tears, Macao's weak farewells to loved ones, and a shriek of "Nooo!" from Wakaba that echoed across the field … at least until Marco stuck his head out of the fort and nailed Wakaba with large snowball and a shout of, "Seriously, yoi? You're worse than Tha- Check that." Another snowball went flying and hit the second pompadour-enthusiast of the guild in the mouth, "Thatch! Stop bawling over there! Nobody's actually dead, yoi! Sheesh…"

Rihanna wasn't sure whether to laugh at the sheer amount of ridiculousness or cry that this was somehow her life and she was grudgingly coming to **enjoy it**.

The snowball fight lasted another hour, bringing the total duration of the One Day Christmas War up to a grand total of six hours before it was brought to an end.

It happened just as Rihanna was looking over the other guild members and wondering if frostbite was a concern in this magically-enhanced world. Or if bruises, concussions, and friction-burns from magic enhanced-snowballs had taken that spot on the winter dangers list. _Well, it isn't like anybody will get too injured from this … right? I mean, they survived the events of the anime just fine… Plus, if it get's too out of hand, surely Master Makarov and Newgate-san will stop it-_ A huge shadow loomed over the heads of the brawlers and everyone to paused in their wild snowball battle to look up in trepidation.

Rihanna looked up, and up, and up … and stared. _Oh. Pantherlilies._ This was the first time she had ever seen Master Makarov use his Giant magic beyond the occasional enlarged arm or fist to break up a fight and get people's attention.

There were a lot of words she could have used to describe it. Awe-inspiring, astounding, terrifying…

Though the last word was probably better suited to describe the building-sized snowball Master Makarov held high above his head with both hands.

His voice thundered out, amplified to a mountain-shaking quality by his size as he brought the snowball down before anyone could think to run away, " **I said** **that's ENOUGH you brats**!" Rihanna barely had time to throw herself into the shadows and pull-

A second later and she was only buried neck-deep in Master Makarov's field-sized snowball rather than completely buried like the rest of the _Raijinshū_ and everyone else who had been in the center of the field were. Silence fell for several long seconds before Master Makarov nodded to himself and both he and Newgate-san clapped their huge hands. The claps blew the snow away, unburying all of the smothered guild members and allowing them to both breathe and move again.

Master Makarov shrunk slowly down to his normal midget size, looked all of the soaked and shivering guild members in the eyes, then nodded his approval at their meek silence, "Good. Now that you've all had time to work off your access energy, come inside and get warmed up. Stupid brats, risking hypothermia playing in the snow for so long…" Master Makarov turned and stalked into the guild building with his head held high, Newgate-san following on his heels laughing uproariously. After a long pause, everyone else shuffled sheepishly in after them. Marco was steaming as he shuffled by, using his Phoenix Magic to dry off early and muttering about the unfairness of getting punished for the faults of his idiot siblings. He also slapped Haruta over the head when she gleefully pointed out that some of the flaming snowballs had been **his**.

Rihanna could only look over her shoulder at the scene of the recently ended war zone, think about Master Makarov's words, and shake her head in despair. _Playing he says. I shudder to think about what he would consider real fighting._

Then again, knowing her luck and the anime, she would find out someday.

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _Date: December 24th, X774. Location: Magnolia, Fiore. Weather: Blizzard._**

Bickslow grudgingly supposed that it was fortunate the blizzard had hit while everyone was gathered in the guild building, singing Christmas Carols and admiring the huge tree rather than when everyone was headed home.

But that still didn't make him any less annoyed at being stuck in the guild building with everyone else rather than huddled on the couch back in the lighthouse with only Wren and the other _Raijinshū_. At least the presents piled under the tree were pretty to look at…

A gentle nudge at his side caused him to look away from his brooding and down at his sister, "Yeah, _Imōto_?"

Wren frowned up at him as she signed, _"Why are you brooding?"_

Bickslow sighed, _of course she noticed_ , "Just … this isn't how I wanted to spend Christmas Eve, Wren."

His little sister cocked her head to one side in question, a few of her honey-blond curls falling over her face with the motion and he shrugged, "I dunno how I wanted to spend Christmas Eve, Wren, I just … this wasn't it."

The head cock deepened, accompanied by a faint jut in her bottom lip and Bickslow squirmed at the interrogation only he could understand, "It's too crowded, and everyone's so…" they both glanced over that the adults-only drinking table as they belted out yet another off-key Christmas carol, "noisy." Wren nodded sympathetically and patted Bickslow's arm.

He couldn't help but notice that she seemed very undisturbed by the crowd in the guild hall and the general hubbub of all the members celebrating as they waited out the blizzard. From behind the sunglasses he still diligently wore, Bickslow scanned Wren's colors to see what her general mood was.

Colors of contentment wrapped around each other, curling lazily into nonsensical patterns. Whispering through the soft oranges, dark blues, and rich forest green was the mysterious dark purple that he usually only saw in people much older than Wren. Bickslow gave a faint hum of realization as he turned off Figure Eyes. So it was one of **those** days.

He had noticed over the course of their time in Fairy Tail that sometimes, in some situations, the purple color in Wren's aura would grow and intertwine more tightly around her other colors. Her days of increased purple usually happened during days she had to interact a lot with the other guild members.

Though somehow, he suspected that her increased purple was more because of what day it was than who she was surrounded by. Especially when he considered the wispy hints of longing and reminiscence in her aura. A thought struck him and he wondered if she remembered celebrating Christmas with her old family, the one she had had before he had found her in that alley.

Bickslow pursed his lips. He didn't like thinking about Wren's past before being his little sister. He didn't want to ponder over how she had lost them, or what had happened to give her the scar across her throat. Especially not on his first Fairy Tail Christmas Eve.

"Bicksy…" The warbled whine and the feel of someone draping over his back yanked him out of his thoughts so fast his head spun. With a yelp, he shot upright, twisting and shaking his body in an effort to dislodge the person who had come up on him from behind.

With one last vigorous shake, Bickslow dislodged the interloper and sent them to the floor with a thud and groan. He whirled, his tikis spinning into a defensive formation around him, ready to yell at whoever had snuck up on him-

Only to stare in confusion as a decidedly glaze-eyed Cana pouting up at him from the floor, "… Shark?"

Cana's bottom lip jutted out farther as she flapped her arms and legs in futile attempt to get up that made her look like some kind of strange turtle, "Bicksy… so mean… I just wan'd a hug…"

Bickslow stared at Cana, unable to respond as he tried to connect the fiery, bossy Card Mage with this … turtle puddle of a girl in front of him. He failed to make the connection in his head and resorted to staring helplessly at Wren. Wren looked just as baffled at Bickslow, so he turned his gaze back to the girl slithering across the floor to hug his ankles and asked, "…Cana? What are you … doing? Are you sick?"

Cana giggled into his shoes and, though he was very freaked out, he couldn't find it in himself to kick her off. Bickslow scanned her aura with Figure Eyes and was surprised to find that there were no pain colors, or any other colors he associated with sickness. In fact, her aura was overrun with content and happy colors. Bickslow frowned when he noticed a strange ripple in the colors, like they were trying to turn into a different color but couldn't. Or had been artificially caused.

The ripple looked familiar. Almost like- Bickslow tried to jerk back, but was only able to rock his upper body because Cana had an iron grip on his lower legs, "Cana, are you **drunk**?"

His squeaked question made Cana giggle even harder before she slurred into his socks, "I fe'l 'arm an' fuzzy, Bicksy!" She lolled her head to one side so that she could stare up at his face, "I'mma hug you now…"

Now more than a little alarmed, Bickslow looked around for Laxus, or the Master, or even Mest. Anyone that might know what to do about this. His scan revealed that Laxus was listening to the stories of a senior member on the other side of the hall, Evergreen and Freed loyally by his side. The Master was sitting on the bar, the red flush in his cheeks and the slur in his cheerful shouts revealed that he too was hopelessly drunk. Mest was nowhere to be found, probably having retreated to the upper floors of the guild building to get relief for his pine tree allergy.

While desperately looking for someone else to help him who wasn't either drunk or a kid, Bickslow's eyes fell on his little sister. He immediately cringed. _Is it getting colder in here? How did I not notice that? Please, please let that be my imagination and not Wren's eye magic. Please._

Very slowly, her motions clearly calculated to be smooth and normal, Wren stood up from the bench and circled around to Cana's side. Crouching down, she began to gently pry the giggling brunette loose from Bickslow's legs, her every motion the picture of composure.

If Bickslow hadn't known her for three years, he might have even been fooled by the look of blank calm on her face. A quick flicker with Figure Eyes made him physically flinch. _Yep, definitely furious._ All of her previous content colors had been replaced by dark fury, annoyance, and a tricky, multi-colored strand that he was beginning to associate with impending painful revenge.

" _Ano_ … _Imōto_?" He mentally winced at the timid squeak of his voice, but couldn't bring himself to try for a more confident tone.

Wren glanced up at him and signed curtly, _"Infirmary. Now."_ She finished by pointing at Cana and Bickslow nodded meekly. Reaching down, he carefully looped one of Cana's arms over his shoulders to help her stand up. A moment later he had two armfuls of the freakish cuddle-monster that was a drunken Cana.

His nose wrinkled and his sense of smell died an ignoble death as Cana chirped near his face, "Car'y meh, Bicksy! Car'y!"

He shot Wren a helpless look, only to receive a shrug and a curt shooing motion from his furious sister. Swallowing his pride and his gag reflex, because **what-had-Cana-gotten-drunk-on-it-stunk-so-bad** , he awkwardly picked Cana up in his arms in what he stubbornly refused to think of as "bridal-style".

Cana cheered and flapped her arms in a manner that almost dislodged her from his already awkward grip and Bickslow hissed, "Stop wiggling, Shark." Cana poked his cheek in retaliation and with a growl, Bickslow concentrated on getting across the crowded guild hall and up the stairs without dumping the drunk brunette on the floor.

After a minute or two of waddling across the hall, grateful at the mysterious path leading to the stairs without any guild members getting in the way, he realized that it wasn't so much of a mystery path as it was members scurrying frantically out of the way. A few seconds after that, he realized **why** they were scurrying.

He forgot sometimes that the _Raijinshū_ weren't the only ones who had been trained to fear Wren when there was a writhing pool of shadows at her feet and a smoky magic aura wafting off of her shoulders. Especially when her face was a picture of blank calm.

Bickslow swallowed hard and staggered up the stairs, hoping that Wren didn't turn that anger on anyone before Bickslow had had a chance to get to cover. And possibly warn the other _Raijinshū_.

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _Date: December 25th, X774. Location: Magnolia, Fiore. Weather: Lightly snowing._**

Cana groaned as consciousness came back to her in reoccurring waves of pain. Her skull felt like it was about to split open and let her brains slide out, her mouth and throat were parched, and the steady snoring noise coming from somewhere past her feet was far too loud. She tried to groan again, only for the noise to reverberate through her skull and add to the pain. Her whole body seemed to be rebelling against the idea of waking up, but her head hurt too much to go back to sleep.

Cana was dully aware that she was lying on a bed and that after her third quiet groan something had silently shuffled off the bed and disappeared somewhere. But in all honesty, she was too busy being miserable to really notice or care.

She wasn't sure how much time passed as she wallowed in a haze of misery, afraid to open her eyes in case light made it worse, when someone gently patted her shoulder. Cana whined and swatted at the hand, trying to make whoever it was go away and leave her alone in her misery. The other person didn't take the hint, instead tugging more insistently on Cana's shoulder and holding something near her nose. The smell of lemon tea wafted under her nose and Cana finally worked up the strength to open one eye a crack.

The light was dim, but it still stabbed at her head without mercy and she considered ignoring the tea and whoever was holding it again. Then her sluggish, tortured brain recognized the person as Wren and instinct had her opening her other eye, "W-wren?" Her voice sounded terrible and her throat felt worse. Wren waved the cup of lemon tea over Cana's face again and used one hand to slowly prop Cana up against the head of the bed. Cana choked back a whine at the pain the movement caused, it felt like someone had stuck a ball in her brain and was rolling it back and forth in her skull.

Wren adjusted Cana's hands and placed the cup of tea in her grasp and even though her eyes were squeezed shut, Cana knew that Wren was giving her that expectant look that made everyone in the _Raijinshū_ shut up and do what they were told. Cana raised the cup to her lips and relished the soothing sensation of the warm drink as it slid down her throat. She breathed in the steam, hoping that it would soothe her pounding in her head and the ache all over her body. _What did I do last night?_

She couldn't remember, which was concerning in and of itself, as usually a bout of Fairy Tail Luck bad enough to make her feel so terrible was at least memorable. _We were … at the Christmas Eve party … and a blizzard started… did a fight break out? Or did I go out into the blizzard for some reason? Ugh._ It hurt to think, so Cana took another gulp of tea instead and waited for the world to stop rocking back and forth.

When the latest wave of nausea had faded, Cana opened her eyes again and took stock of her surroundings. She was in the Fairy Tail infirmary. Laxus was draped across the bed to her left, Mest on the one to her right. Freed and Evergreen were sharing one across from her and Bickslow was snoring at Cana's feet on top of the covers, his tikis rolling slowly around on the floor. None of them looked injured, so she could only assume they were here because she was.

Cana felt a wave of warmth at the realization despite her pain. She shifted her gaze to Wren, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with a sympathetic and oddly knowing expression. Cana decided to try speaking again, "Wren?" The smaller girl tilted her head to indicate she had heard, "What … what happened?"

Wren scowled, dark and terrifying and Cana did her best not to shrink back. The blond raised her hands to sign something, but couldn't seem to find the right motions. She gave up with a huff and instead reached over and shook Bickslow's hip. Bickslow sat up with a grunt, "Wha-?" Cana winced at his volume and Wren gave a hiss for quiet. Bickslow's jaw clicked shut and he struggled to blink the sleep out of his eyes.

When he finally seemed to be awake, Wren pointed at Cana. Bickslow's gaze shifted to Cana, "Oh," he whispered, "you're awake. Thank Mavis."

Cana took another sip of her tea and squinted at Bickslow, "What happened to me?"

Bickslow shifted uneasily on the bed and a distinctly uncomfortable expression flitted across his face, "You, um, drank the punch. The stuff in the bowl on the middle buffet table, you drank some of it."

Cana stared at him as she tried to figure out how **that** would make her feel like she had been repeatedly run over by horses and had a bowling ball use her brain for pins, "So?"

Wren was oozing malice —though thankfully it didn't seem to be directed at either of them— and Bickslow admitted nervously, "Turns out one of the adult members mixed alcohol in the punch in that bowl. Like, a **lot**. Several bottles of the stuff. So when you drank it, you got drunk."

Cana's eyes widened in disbelief, shock temporarily overriding the pain in her head, "I only had one little cup!" Her hiss was louder than she intended and Laxus came awake with a low grunt at the sound of her voice.

Bickslow made a helpless gesture, "Like I said, there was a **lot** of liquor in that punch. Wren was furious." They both glanced at the smaller girl on the bed and the faint black magic aura wafting off of her like smoke, "She … still is, apparently."

Wren flashed several hand-signs at them that Cana had never seen before. Judging from the look on Bickslow's face, she strongly suspected she didn't want to know what they meant. Or be the one Wren was talking about. Laxus dropped softly onto Cana's bed and ran a hand through his hair, "Wren overreacted and crashed the party on your behalf." Wren made a gesture of protest and Laxus gave her a flat look, "You disintegrated the entire buffet table. With your eye magic. Some of the adults almost got frostbite. There is now a **frozen hole** three feet deep in the guild hall floor."

Cana gawked and Wren looked disturbingly unashamed. A low chuckle came from the right as Mest slid off of his bed and ambled over, "Well, I'm pretty sure that the spiked punch bowls will be clearly marked and guarded after this, so that's one good thing that came out of it." Freed and Evergreen made meek noises of agreement, but Cana noticed they hadn't left their bed yet. Apparently Wren's fit of temper had made them terrified of her all over again.

She shifted her attention to Wren, "I … you didn't have to do that, Wren. It was my fault."

Hazel eyes blinked scathingly at her, _"There were other children present at the party,"_ she signed, _"the adults should have been more responsible."_ Her gaze drifted down a few inches to the cup in Cana's hands, _"Drink the rest of that."_

Cana obeyed the order meekly. She had to admit that the drink was helping her aches and pains a bit, though everything still seemed to be too loud and too sharp. Mest shuffled for the door and called over his shoulder softly, "I'll go grab some cookies and a hangover potion. It should be safe for you to drink after you finish that tea."

The tea coupled with the hangover potion and cookies Mest had brought succeeded in banishing the worst of Cana's hangover and made her capable of operating in light and normal society. Wren fussed for a few minutes after Cana had drunk the potion before she allowed Cana to actually get out of bed. Once Cana had reassured everyone that she felt better, Laxus herded them all downstairs for the delayed Secret Santa ceremony.

Cana glanced out a window as they made their way back to the guild hall, "They haven't done it yet? It's almost noon!"

Mest rubbed the scar on his cheek with a sheepish noise, "Wren made everyone wait for you. Besides, they had to fix the hole in the floor and you **know** what how hard it is to get anyone to do anything productive after the Christmas Eve party." Cana couldn't stop the warm feeling she had at the thought that Wren had made everyone wait for her, but the reminder of the hole in the floor made her feel a bit embarrassed. _Never getting drunk again. Ever._ Wren might actually hurt someone next time. Or worse, decide that Cana was at fault and insist on extra one-on-one training with her.

They entered the guild hall and Cana felt herself blink. _Wasn't it noisy in here just a second ago…?_ She looked around and saw that everyone was frozen in place, some in awkward mid-motion, staring at the _Raijinshū_ as they entered. _No, wait._ They weren't staring at the _Raijinshū_ , just at Wren. With the same expressions on their faces that Evergreen and Freed had had for the first few days after meeting Wren.

Cana eyed Wren, wondering how the younger girl would react. Instead of the usual exasperation, she seemed perfectly content with the wary stares. Wren waved her hands at the gathered guild members imperiously, spurring them back into frantic motions to finish fixing the floor. Cana couldn't help but shake her head at the sight of a six-year-old silently bossing around and cowing teenagers and adults —some decades older than she— into obeying her. _And she wonders why we all find her scary._ Laxus gave a low chuff of laughter at the reactions as he herded the _Raijinshū_ around the impromptu repair crew and toward the bar where a lunch buffet had been laid out.

Marco was already perched at one end of the bar, nursing a cup of coffee and watching them with an amused look in his hooded eyes, "Feeling better, yoi?" Cana nodded as she clambered up onto a bar seat, "Good. Thatch is hiding out in the kitchen and refuses to come out until someone appeases Wren-chan, so maybe your feeling better will do that, yoi." Marco sipped his coffee, "Or don't. I like the quiet, yoi."

It took the entirety of the _Raijinshū's_ very late breakfast and an additional hour after that before the floor was patched and everyone else was convinced that Wren was no longer a step away from murdering them. That was also, coincidentally, when Master Makarov and Newgate-san reappeared. Wren gave the two a very unimpressed look, but neither of them reacted. Master Makarov was perched Newgate-san's shoulder and, now that she had experienced one for herself, Cana had to wonder how he didn't look the least bit hungover or in pain after how much he had drunk the previous night. Perhaps he had a secret stash of hangover potions?

Master Makarov clapped his hands together and ignored the resulting flinches at the loud sound, "Merry Christmas everyone!" There was a chorus of Christmas greetings in reply as the members began to relax and gather around, "Well done fixing the hole in the floor! Eat up, eat up! Then we will begin the Secret Santa ceremony!" The last of the wariness vanished from the guild hall as everyone cheered.

The Secret Santa ceremony went even better than it had the previous years, Master Makarov and Newgate-san took turns picking out presents from beneath the huge tree and calling out who they were for and who they were from. There were fewer fights over the gag gifts that were inevitably given when two rivals got the other's name as their Secret Santa, no one got drunk on the eggnog —again—, and the growing pile of wrapping paper only spontaneously combusted three times. Eventually, the _Raijinshū's_ gifts began to appear from the huge presents pile.

Laxus got a new pair of cordless headphones from Levy. Freed almost died from joy at the slender magic rapier Laxus had got him to help defend himself. Mest thanked Marco for the new pair of boots and the old book on magic that Marco claimed to have found during a recent adventure. Evergreen blushed profusely as she fingered the beautiful metal and fabric handheld fans that Wren had found for their resident tsundere.

There was a pause in the _Raijinshū's_ gifts as other names were randomly pulled out. Marco damaged his reputation as the calm and collected member of Newgate-san's brood by throwing the dish of pineapple chicken Thatch had made him —Cana was fairly certain that it was some kind of inside joke— back in the chef's face. Wakaba and Macao had given each other bottles of alcohol and promptly cringed at the look Wren gave them until they hid the bottles and promised not to touch them until New Years.

Cana felt her stomach flutter a bit as Bickslow's name was called and he retrieved his present from Newgate-san's giant hand. The fluttering got worse as Bickslow heard who it was from and his eyebrows went up. Bickslow shot her a curious look before he opened the square box containing her present to him. She felt herself start to babble the moment he lifted the sleeveless hoodie with a metal knight's visor that she had painstakingly attached to it, "It's to replace your sunglasses. The ones that got smashed when Ivan … you know. I know you got another pair, but I figured that you might want something that didn't tint your vision and make is so hard to see indoors and in the dark. I was going to get you normal glasses, but then I remembered how you said you didn't like how they looked and how people could see when you were using Figure Eyes through them and I know this blacksmith who does custom jobs so I thought- I thought what if you had something that let you see through it but obscured other people's view of your face- like a knight's helmet…"

She looked down at her lap and wondered if the dizzy heat creeping up her face was some remnant of the hangover from earlier, "The visor is enchanted so that you can see through the metal slats, but the slats will keep other people from seeing your eyes unless the angle is just right. And- and the hoodie is sleeveless so you can wear it whenever, even when it isn't winter anymore. For now you can just put on a warm shirt under it … and stuff…"

There was a long silence, everyone else in the guild had gone quiet and Cana felt an embarrassed blush crawl up her neck and ears as she waited for Bickslow to tease her for what she'd gotten him. She knew the hoodie looked ridiculous, even before she had attached the knight's visor to it. The dark purple article had been the only sleeveless hoodie she could find that time of year and she had no idea if Bickslow even **liked** the color purple. Plus it had that stupid Jolly Rodger motif on the back that she somehow hadn't noticed until after she had purchased it and she was fairly certain that Bickslow had a bad association with pirates ever since the job where they'd met Newgate-san.

Finally, Bickslow sighed, "Stupid Shark." Cana flinched at the bland statement but a rustle of cloth and the soft murmurs of the other guild members had her look up at Bickslow from behind her hair before she could start lecturing herself. She felt her jaw drop in surprise as she saw Bickslow finish wiggling into the hoodie and settle the visor in front of his face, his replacement sunglasses discarded in his lap. He moved his head around, inspecting his range of vision before his head turned in her direction and he stuck his tongue out at her in his trademark annoying grin, "You just had to do something so cool and different didn't ya? Now my gift to you is gonna seem stupid."

Cana felt her mouth work without sound before she managed a shaky, "Y-you like it?"

The tongue-grin grew bigger, "You bet! This thing is awesome!" The tongue-grin faded a bit as he added ruefully, "I doubt you'll like my gift now though. I didn't custom design it or anything… I just bought it in a store…"

A few chuckles went up and Laxus interjected blandly, "Why don't you let her open it and decide for herself, since you gave the game away already." Bickslow shuffled in place and his tikis offered chirped apologies for giving away who Cana's Secret Santa was. Someone pressed a clumsily wrapped gift into her hands and Cana opened it eagerly, both curious and wary to see what Bickslow had gotten her.

She stared in confusion for several long seconds at the colorful box that held a toy that was popular among the non-magical kids in Magnolia. It was based off of some manga that Cana had tried in passing months ago because the plot revolved around a hero who used magic cards to fight evil. She'd stopped because the manga had gotten some key details of using card magic all wrong and she'd been too irritated with the mistakes to continue reading.

So why had Bickslow gotten her a replica of the main character's battle gear?

She opened the box and peered inside. She felt her confusion grow as she realized that Bickslow hadn't just gotten her any replica, but a high quality metal and magically-treated leather replica that not only looked but also could be used just like the real thing. She looked back up at Bickslow, her brows furrowed. Bickslow shrunk in on himself a little, "You don't like it."

Cana shook her head, "No, I do like it! I just … why?"

Bickslow wormed his hand under his hood to rub his neck, "Well, you use cards just like the character does." He held up a hand to stop her from talking, "and I **know** he doesn't use cards right, you've said before, but that doesn't mean his gear doesn't work just fine. I remembered those times when you lost your card purse or ran out of cards in your deck during a fight and I thought … I don't know, you could keep a backup deck in those. Or something."

Cana stared at Bickslow, then stared at the high quality upper-arm and thigh holsters that were designed to hold the main character's two card decks, complete with small switches and dials to quickly select which card would be at the top of the deck to be used. She processed the implications of Bickslow's statement for a long ten seconds before she pressed her hands to her face, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Lowering her hands, she quickly freed the holsters from their box and strapped them on. She flexed her left arm and right leg, testing the foreign weight and feel of the items before she experimentally slid a few of her cards into the holsters and tested pulling them back out. The small runes engraved inside the holsters ensured that the cards slid easily into her palm when she swept it over the top of the holster, but that they didn't come loose or fall out when she moved.

She sat back down and grinned at Bickslow and his hesitantly spinning tikis, "These are perfect Bickslow! I can't believe I didn't think of getting these for myself when I was reading the manga!"

Bickslow's shoulders loosened and he flashed her another smile, but then scowled at the rest of the guild when they started to coo. Cana thought about threatening the cooing members with her new card holsters, but then decided to be mean and instead turned a pleading look at Wren. Wren was wearing a vaguely disturbing, knowing smile but upon Cana's look, the younger girl's expression shifted and she fixed the rest of the guild with her Look. An uncharacteristically meek semblance of order settled instantly, with everyone quieting down and turning back to Master Makarov and Newgate-san for more presents.

More names were called, presents were opened, brawls were started and quelled, and the pile of shredded wrapping paper was set on fire a fourth time and nearly took the tree with it before the fire was extinguished and the ornament casualties mourned. Everyone remained sober though, which was a first to Cana's memory. Someone had always gotten drunk on the eggnog or smuggled in alcohol by this point in the past, but she supposed after Wren's temper tantrum over the spiked punch, everyone was being extra careful about what they drank.

People started to drift to various nooks and corners of the guild hall as the pile of presents shrank, everyone fiddling with their gift or good-naturedly comparing with someone else's. Eventually only one box was left. Wren's present. Cana eyed the surprisingly large box as Wren retrieved it from an indulgent Master Makarov. The look on Freed's face —nervous and giddy and terrified all at once— made it obvious who the gift was from and Cana wondered what in the world Freed had gotten Wren that required such a large, oddly shaped box.

Wren was giving the box an equally baffled look as she rejoined the _Raijinshū's_ circle on the floor and set the box down in front of her. It was a long rectangle with rounded-off edges. It was longer than Wren's arm, but only about eight inches wide and four inches thick from top to bottom. Freed was practically quivering as Wren unwrapped the strange box with a slow methodicalness that Cana didn't think was appropriate for a six-year-old on Christmas day.

The paper came away to reveal that the box was really a case of some kind made from a dark lacquered wood. It had a small handle on one of its long sides and a small draw latch on either side of the handle to hold the case shut. Wren stared at the case and Cana thought she heard the younger girl's breath hitch. Bickslow made a low noise and reached out to his sister, "Wren? You okay?" Wren gave a faint nod and waved Bickslow's hand away. She seemed to brace herself before she reached out, undid the latches, and opened the case.

Cana gaped at the gift, wondering what in the world could have possessed Freed to get the item sitting innocently in the case. It was certainly not something that ever would have crossed her mind as a gift for the ever practical little shadow mage.

Nestled in red velvet was a small, chestnut-colored violin. The instrument shone in the overhead lights of the guild hall, the small whirls and circles of darker colors weaving over its surface being all that remained of its different grains. Suspended in the top part of the case was a small bow of the same wood as the violin, and there were small covered compartments on either side of the violin-shaped velvet-lined cradle in which the instrument sat. Cana had no doubts whatsoever that Freed must have used his entire Christmas gift budget —if not his entire allowance as well— on the gift.

Shaking little hands brushed the wood of the violin, fingertips trailing tentatively over the strings and other parts that Cana didn't know the names of. Cana suddenly became aware of the sound of tight, strangled breathing and Bickslow lurched out of his place in the circle in alarm, " _Imōto_? You're-" One hand whipped up in the silent signal to stop. Bickslow froze, concern radiating from him even as Wren slowly lowered her hand back to the violin.

Cana felt worry twist her stomach and all of the _Raijinshū_ leaned forward in concern as Mest murmured, "Wren? What's wrong?"

Wren shook her head once, then again, her shoulders shaking as her fingers obsessively traced over the wood of the instrument in front of her. Freed, sitting directly across from Wren, suddenly made a quiet noise of despair and apology, hunching in on himself with an expression of immense guilt. A moment later, Wren turned her head away from the violin and its case and Cana realized why Freed looked so miserable and guilty.

Wren was crying.

The world felt like it had tilted on its head. Because Wren didn't cry. Not outside of those horrible nightmares she had at random, not unless it was something truly terrible and even then, Cana could only remember seeing Wren cry on behalf of someone else, like one of the other _Raijinshū_. Not for herself, and definitely not like this.

These weren't the tears from Wren's nightmares, all wild eyes and silent screams as her entire body shook from the force of some unknown terror. These weren't the tears she cried for someone else, few and quickly dashed away in favor of doing something about the problem. These were tears Cana had never seen before. They flowed freely down her cheeks, slow but large and unrestrained while Wren bit her bottom lip and her shoulders shook from the force of unheard sobs.

Wren looked like she was breaking. Like the entire world had just shattered around her ears, like something had just happened that could never be undone or fixed or made right ever again. She looked like-

She looked like Cana had in the mirror just after her mother died.

Freed was the first to break the shocked silence, falling into a deep bow on his hands and knees as he begged, "Wren-sama, Wren-sama I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, I thought-" Wren crossed the distance between them in a blink, her arms thrown tight around the neck of the stunned boy as she held him close despite the tears rolling down her face. Freed froze, his eyes wide and uncomprehending, "W-Wren-sama?"

Wren pulled away from Freed, still crying, but her face split in such a brilliant glass-fragile smile that Cana realized breathlessly that she'd been wrong before. Wren didn't look like what Cana had after her mother died. There was grief yes —her tears and her eyes still held so much of it—, but the smile was genuine and childish and bright in a way Cana didn't think she could remember coming from Wren before. Bickslow reached out to wrap an arm around Wren's shoulders, but the girl gently pushed him away and scurried back to the violin case with a desperate urgency Cana had never seen outside of life-threatening fights before.

Little fingers fished through the covered compartments in the case and retrieved a small circular block of something dark and woody-smelling. Wren then pried the bow loose from its niche and twirled the knob on the end with shaky but oddly practiced motions until the bow was taut. Wren began running the small block along the bow in firm, tiny motions, oblivious to her own tears and the attention she was slowly garnering from the rest of the guild.

She ignored them for the next ten minutes. Ignored Bickslow's attempts to hug her, ignored Freed's apologies, Evergreen's concerned glances or Laxus's, Mest's, and Cana's tentative questions. Her entire world seemed to have narrowed down to the object in her hands. After what seemed to be an eternity of rubbing the bow with the little block, Wren set them aside and reached for the violin itself with reverent hands. Soft plucking of the strings and business-like turning of the pegs commenced as Wren seemed to search for a particular sound from the instrument, her eyes dry and tightly shut as she concentrated. _Is she-?_

Finally, Wren appeared to find what she was looking for, gently plucking all four strings in a row one more time before she nodded and reached for the bow. Her fingers stopped just short of the bow and Cana could see a blank, hesitant expression cross the blond's face. Laxus leaned a bit closer to her, "Wren?" Wren took a deep breath, picked up the bow and settled the violin under her chin. _Is she really going to try to play? Just like that? Because Freed got her a violin out of the blue?_ Cana braced herself, not sure what was going to happen, but afraid of what it would do to Wren when the girl wouldn't be able to play like the people on the street corners —the ones Wren had always stopped to listen to and throw a few coins into the cases of, Cana realized— could.

The first note came out hesitant, squeaky, and Wren flinched as if the sound had hurt her. Cana could see her jaw tighten with frustration, but Wren just closed her eyes tight and tried again. One note became two, which became three, which slowly, hesitantly, became a recognizable Christmas carol. Wren stumbled on the notes, even had to pause and restart in several places, but the longer she played, the smoother each new song became.

By the end of her first song, the chatter in the guild hall had quieted down to bare whispers. By the end of the second, there was not another sound to be heard. At start of the third, the silence was broken by Mest as he cautiously began to sing along to the recognizable carol,

"What child is this,"

"Who laid to rest,"

"On Mary's lap is sleeping?"

"Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,"

"While shepherd watch are keeping?"

Mest was joined by Laxus, who was joined by a wobbly Bickslow, who were then joined by Freed and Evergreen and Marco and Levy and Haruta. By the end of the fourth stanza, everyone in the guild was quietly singing along as Wren's fingers danced across the strings. The song drew to a close and the silence that fell was filled with awe. Wren opened her eyes and looked astounded to see the crowd that had gathered around her, as if she hadn't even heard them singing along with her last song.

Master Makarov appeared out of the throng, his eyes solemn, "That was very beautiful, Wren-chan. Where did you learn to play the violin?" Cana focused on Wren, curiosity needling her as she waited for the _Raijinshū's_ littlest to answer.

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Rihanna stared blankly at Master Makarov, unsure what to say, still too wrapped up in the euphoria of playing again to really think straight. Her fingers curled gently around the neck of her new violin and she felt her eyes blur again. It had been so long. She had forgotten somehow just how much making music made her happy. She had missed it, had always missed it in the back of her mind, in the moments where Earthland seemed too fantastical and she longed for the familiarity of Earth. But somehow she had forgotten how it felt to play, the joy of coaxing the voice out of a violin and hearing it sing in response to her fingers.

After three years of not even holding a violin, she hadn't been sure she even could play anymore. The fear of not being able to play like she used to, the terrible thought that she might have forgotten so much she wouldn't know where to start anymore had kept her from buying herself a new violin after joining Fairy Tail, no matter how much she missed it.

But Freed had gotten her one. Had gotten her **the** exact violin she had admired and pined over a few days ago and while a part of her was miffed that she hadn't noticed him stalking her, the rest of her didn't care because she had **music** again. She had a violin in her hands again and she **hadn't forgotten**. Her fingers were rusty and the child-sized violin had nowhere near the depth and tone of the battered old veteran she'd had back on Earth but it was still there. The ability and memories and love she'd developed and trained for twenty years was **still there** and that thought almost brought her to tears again.

It was hard to sign one-handed, but she couldn't bring herself to set down the violin. Instead, she gently laid the little bow back in the open case and signed the only truthful answer she could think of that wouldn't require telling Master Makarov her secret, the only answer that really mattered, _"She used to play it."_

There was a pause as Laxus started to translate but faltered, "Bickslow, did I read that right?"

She could almost feel Bickslow's puzzled shrug, "I think so." Master Makarov coughed pointedly and Bickslow sheepishly translated, "Wren said 'she used to play it'. But I don't know who 'she' is."

"Wren-chan?" Master Makarov didn't sound accusing, just curious, gentle. But Rihanna had no words. It wasn't a word they had ever needed to cover in their sign-language and Rihanna couldn't think of a new gesture that could convey it all. Convey memories of laughter and warmth and smiles and tears and patient hands guiding her own over the strings. Of tired smiles but an endless enthusiasm, an endless support for a shared love that no one could taint and nothing could destroy. Of hours carefully mimicking and practicing Christmas carol after Christmas carol, of faltering courage bolstered by a gentle kiss and a "I believe in you".

Even after she had moved on to actual teachers and professors, those were the memories that would forever be tied to the sound of the violin, the feel of strings, and the smell of rosin. For all that she had spent years learning techniques and classics and positions from other —admittedly wise and skilled— teachers, only one could be given full credit for Rihanna's undying love of the instrument, only one came to mind as the answer to the questioning gazes of the guild.

But she couldn't answer. Her Japanese letters had fled her mind and there was no word for it that she could speak anymore and no way that she knew to convey it.

Because how did someone just up and invent a new word for **mother**?

 _"_ ** _She_** _used to play it."_ It was a repeat of an unsatisfactory answer, but it was all Rihanna had as she cradled the violin closer to her chest and tried not to start crying again.

Laxus pressed his lips together, "But who is-" Something clicked in his mind and grey eyes went round, "Oh. **Oh**." Everyone looked expectantly at Laxus for answers, but he only seemed to have eyes for her, "You mean your mother, don't you?" Rihanna nodded shakily and scrubbed a wayward tear away with her sleeve to keep it away from her violin.

Rihanna's mother had been a violinist. Not a famous one by any means, but a beautiful one. Her mother had been skilled and passionate and talented, able to make the strings of a violin sing with emotions like a human voice. Rihanna had grown up listening to her mother play away any spare hours she had after work and had begged to learn for two years before her mother gave in and surprised her seven-year-old daughter with a violin of her own.

Rihanna had learned the Christmas carols first, they'd been her favorites to listen to and memorizing them had been easier than reading the books her mother had gotten to help teach her. They had played them together every Christmas, even after Rihanna had moved out to a place of her own or when she decided to go to college for a proper degree. They had played at home mostly. But sometimes —when they got bored with having only the pet cat for an audience— they had signed up to local Christmas concerts and played duets together on a real stage.

The violin was more than an instrument to Rihanna. It was memory, it was warmth, it was love and here —on a Christmas Day in an entirely different world, so far from anything familiar— it was even more than it had ever been before.

It was home.

Master Makarov's voice gently broke her reverie, "You know how to play all those just from watching your mother, Wren-chan?"

Rihanna fidgeted with the violin, _"She used to show me where to put my hands, how to move my fingers, even helped me hold the bow."_ Rihanna had been so little and eager at the time and her mother so patient and thrilled to share her passion with her daughter. Even though it was the conception of that same daughter that had kept her from following through on that passion.

Master Makarov's expression was soft, sad almost, as he rubbed a gentle hand over her head, "Thank you for sharing your music with us, Wren-chan, you play beautifully. Your mother would be proud." Rihanna's composure almost broke at that, at the enthusiastic ripple of agreement that went through the guild at the Master's words. Those songs hadn't been nearly as well-played as Rihanna's mind remembered playing them, hadn't been nearly as polished. She had had to drop all of the tiny flourishes she'd learned to add in and just play the basic songs and yet there he was, praising her, thanking her, telling her that her mother would be proud.

She already knew that. She already knew her mother would have been proud of her — **had** been proud of her Before—, she just hoped her mother could forgive Rihanna for being such a coward after joining Fairy Tail. For nearly giving up her music because she was afraid that she would fail and what people would think and how she would explain her ability to play. She should have known that Fairy Tail would just … accept it. That's what they did. They didn't care about the "why" so long as it didn't hurt any of their own. They accepted their members for who they were, quirks and mysteries and all.

Bickslow inched closer, a reverent, quiet expression on what little of his face she could see below and behind his new visor, "Can … can you play us another song, _Imōto_?" Something stirred at his words, at "little sister" and Rihanna looked around at the rest of the guild to see eager nods and cheers for another song. The something inside her swelled, it filled her chest to the bursting and whispered down her fingertips with intent and memory and understanding.

Rihanna nodded at Bickslow and picked up her bow as she stood up. The cheers became louder as Laxus helped her up onto the bar as if it was a stage. She looked out over the faces, so familiar in so many different ways, and felt only one song come to mind. It took a bit longer to remember this one than the Christmas carols, she hadn't had it memorized for as long and she could not hum it to ground her memory. But five years was still a long time and after all the trouble she had gone to in order to transcribe the song into a violin solo, there was no way she could have truly forgotten it.

The first note floated into the air, followed by a slow second, and everything clicked back into place in her mind. Her eyes drifted shut as she focused, coaxed each swell and fade of sound from the instrument in her hands. It squeaked on the high notes a bit, the violin was too little for the depth she was trying to convey, but Rihanna didn't care. She could hear what had to come next in the back of her mind, hear the rumble of drums and the whisper of the orchestra she had had to decipher in order to piece together a solo version.

She poured her heart into the song despite the mistakes that tried to slip into the melody, despite the distractions that tried to take hold. Memories danced and she let them in, let them flow from her mind to her heart to the strings. Memories of Earth, memories of friends, memories of all that she had lost were mourned in the first bars of the song.

Then it changed, the notes climbed and the pictures behind her eyes changed. Bickslow, her anchor, her protector, her first brother. Mest, her rescuer, the one who had brought her to Fairy Tail, who had saved Bickslow's life from sickness, her exasperated sensible eldest brother. Laxus, her strength, her leader, her third and most worrisome brother who was already so strong yet so scarred. Cana, so fiery and stubborn, her first sister, her first friend. Freed and Evergreen, lost and scared yet so brave. Her newest siblings, her littlest siblings who had to be protected and yet had already worked so hard to protect her in return.

Levy, Macao, Wakaba, Reedus, Enno, Newgate, Macro, Haruta, Thatch, and so many others. All of them precious, all of them family, all of them **hers** now. Natsu, Grey, Erza, Lucy, Wendy, Gajeel, Pantherlily, Juvia, Charla, Happy. Those not yet here but who **would be** someday, who would stand with her as _nakama_. Strengthening her as she tried to strengthen them, protecting her as she protected them.

Joy and grief, laughter and fear, everything she had experienced since joining Fairy Tail and everything she knew was to come. Everything she knew she would face alongside them because this was her path now, **they** were hers now and Fairy Tail was so much more than a guild.

Rihanna poured her soul into the song, oblivious to the way the shadows swirled and shifted behind her, stretching and twisting until they filled the room with shapes and impressions. She did not notice the gasps of surprise from the members, did not feel the shadows coalesce on her back as the song built toward the climax until the notes peaked and for a single, heart-stopping moment the shadows were **fairy wings** flaring out from her back, long and slender and beautiful and **proud**.

She would never know how the sight took away Bickslow's breath and made him cry from the colors he could see rippling through the air in time to the music, the warmth seeping into his skin from the raw magic that filled the guild hall with her song. She would never know about how Bickslow would track Freed down after the Christmas party was over and hug the green-haired boy so tight it made it hard to breathe and hoarsely thank him for giving his little sister her voice back. For giving her that ability to **sing**.

The song softened and began to slow, the wings dissolved back into shadows, trailing and curling lazily around her feet like a tail before disappearing entirely as the last note drifted away.

Rihanna opened her eyes as the last note disappeared. The bow came off the strings and she raised the hand holding it in one fluid motion, trapping the bow between her middle, ring, and pinky fingers and her palm while her wrist rotated and her index and thumb formed the sign of the guild. Her message was clear, it rang through the room louder than any of the cheers shaking the rafters of the guild hall, louder than any words she could have used to explain what song she had just played.

This was Fairy Tail. This was their song. This was her guild.

And here, with her mother's legacy clasped firmly in both hands and her new family all around, a rough, broken edge she hadn't been aware she had smoothed and clicked into place and became something more. The last lingering doubts and what-ifs, the regrets held by her subconscious that she hadn't even been aware were still there disappeared. The circle completed. The final distinctions between Rihanna and Wren melted away, ceased to matter. Rihanna was Wren's past, Wren was Rihanna's future. Here, in that place, in that moment, past and future met and the past finally accepted the entirety of her future.

She was Wren.

And Wren was home.

.

.

* * *

 **There you have it folks, Wren's first Fairy Tail Christmas experience. In case anyone is wondering, Rihanna will now be referred to solely a Wren from now on, because after three years and some odd months of everyone calling her that, I felt it was time for her to accept her new name the same as she has accepted her new world.**

.

.

 **One last thing before I go, a relative of mine has been incredibly stressed about meeting all of the "Christmas Standards" in his neighborhood and so is not enjoying Christmas very much, if at all. He has gotten caught up in shopping, meeting the extravagant decorating standards of his neighborhood, preparing a big Christmas dinner, etc. To him and to all the other people pulling their hair out from the stress of meeting these 'standards' and fulfilling these 'traditions', I'd just like to set forth this reminder: Christmas isn't about the stuff. It isn't about the lights or the tree or the big dinner or the piles of presents (though those are nice too). Christmas is a time to GIVE in order to remember and celebrate everything we have ALREADY BEEN GIVEN. Family, friends, a home, food, warmth, freedom, LIFE and so many other blessings that are just ... so easy to take for granted. Celebrating and parties and presents are all wonderful, but really, Christmas is a time to remember when the entire world was given the greatest, most precious gift of all. A gift that, really, none of us deserved but were given anyway because we are ALL, to a person, LOVED. Just ... so loved. Christmas ISN'T COMPLICATED. Here. I can sum it up for you in two paragraphs:**

 ** _In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with_** ** _whom He is pleased."_ New American Standard Bible, Luke Chapter 2, Verses 8-14.**

 **Why is this such good news and such a big gift? Here's paragraph 2:**

 ** _For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the_** ** _world, but that the world might be saved through Him._ New American Standard Bible, John Chapter 3, Verses 16-17**

 **From me, to you, with love. Merry Christmas!**


	34. Chapter 33: Vacation

**I return! Hopefully, you guys will enjoy this one, because the ending of this was fun to write!**

 **Dear snowleopard314, greetings! If you want to hear the song Wren played in real life, go on youtube and look up Taylor Davis's Fairy Tail Theme, that's the song I based the description off of. Aw, thank you! Those are very high compliments! I hope you enjoy this chapter too!**

 **Dear RedWolf Lover, hello there! Awesome, thank you! Also, you're welcome, I'm thrilled to hear it moved you to tears (but only if they were happy tears, of course).**

 **Dear CzappaStar, hi there! (offers tissues) there, there...**

 **Dear Gerbilfriend, hey there! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it! The song she played is Taylor Davis's cover of the Fairy Tail Theme, you can look it up on youtube or buy it on iTunes (which you should totally do, she deserves all the support in the world for her music). I had a wonderful Christmas, I hope you had the same!**

 **Dear Hope10032, hello! (takes stage bow) You're welcome both for the story and for the Bible verses! Thank you for your lovely review, and your thank you over the verses, I was a teeny bit nervous about posting them. I hope you had a lovely New Year!**

 **Dear ChangelingRin, greetings! Thank you, that means a lot to me, it really does. I hope you continue to enjoy this story!**

 **Dear KisaragiMaru, hello there! Well, consider yourself lucky, as it tends to get crazy over here during Christmas, which is such a pity. I'm glad you enjoyed it! I have no plans for them to ever find out about her de-aging and knife-scar circumstances at this time, but we'll see. Enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear BitterLilyz, hey there! (offers tissue) I'm thrilled to hear how much the chapter moved you! Though hopefully this next one will make you laugh instead cry.**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, greetings! The song is Taylor Davis's cover of the Fairy Tail Theme and is available on both iTunes and youtube if you want to listen. (laughs) The Raijinshū are going to be scary when they grow up, they really are. You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoyed the verses as well as the chapter! You stayed up reading this all night? Wow. Flattering, but wow. Heh, hopefully next Christmas Special will be on time as well, but I wouldn't count on it.**

 **Dear sacke110, hi there! I'm thrilled that you find this story so interesting! Revealing her origins to Fairy Tail is not in my plans at the moment and I highly doubt it ever will be, but we'll see. My muses like to mess with me.**

 **Dear Forecast, hello! Yes! Exactly what I was going for! Yeah, I thought it would be a fun extra reason for why Cana is not going to be an alcoholic in this story, alongside her not being so stressed as to turn to being drunk all the time to deal with it. It was fun coming up with ways they got their future uniforms, glad you enjoyed it! (laughs) The snowball scene was by far my favorite scene in the chapter to write, just barely edging out over the final scene because it was just so much fun to imagine the chaos. If you want to, you are welcome to draw your interpretation of that scene! Or any of the scenes! Just if you do, and you post it, let me know so I can go admire it and link it in my profile.**

 **Dear WolfGirl01, greetings! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it, mess of emotions or no mess! I hope you enjoy this newest chapter!**

 **Dear Cloudsneverbeentouch, hello! Thank you for your compliments! There will be time skips, but so far I'm not sure if there will ever be a 'huge' one, as I plan to cover several things pre-anime and I like to take my time. I hope that answers your question?**

 **Dear , heya! Glad you enjoyed it! I personally love violin (have played it for years), so I couldn't resist making it part of Wren's life too.**

 **Dear najamuzen, greetings! I'm glad you liked it! You're welcome, I hope you enjoy the latest update!**

 **Dear EmberFlame03, hi there! Aw, I'm so glad you liked it! I hope you had a wonderful holiday and New Years as well!**

 **Dear Pixie, hi! Scrap. I knew I missed something in my edits. Even though I went through that thing three times before posting it... oh well. The guild knew peripherally that Wren had eye magic, but they didn't know what it was or what it did and mostly forgot about it until her temper tantrum over the punch. Wren doesn't use it very often, especially not around other people. Technically, nobody but Wren knows what it REALLY does, because space and space physics are very much not an area of study in Fiore (there's a parallel dimension represented by the stars, I don't think people bother investigating beyond that point). They all think its some kind of black, freezing explosion of some kind. Wren doesn't bother to enlighten them because how would a six-year-old explain her knowledge of complex physics and laws of reality? That's a very good thought! One I've actually had myself for later. At the moment, they're all still saving up money in the team fund and been busy with missions. Wren will get them thinking about expanding in a later because puberty would definitely make their current living arrangements awkward beyond belief.**

 **Dear KEZZ 1, greetings! Glad you think so and I hope you enjoy the latest update!**

 **Dear Chamele, hi! Technically she's not a rebirth character, but I know what you mean. Plus, it was getting kinda tiresome to keep switching names for her depending on POV.**

 **Dear ZaraDimm, hello there! Happy to hear it! I hope you enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear thatgirl221b, hi there! Aw, you're welcome! I hope you continue to enjoy this story!**

 **Dear Kaioo, hello! Well ... it might still happen. You never know. We'll just have to wait and see what my muses decree when we get to that point in the storyline.**

 **Dear demonicKitsune2, heya! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Playing the violin really can feel like singing when you put enough passion into it, so I thought it was a cool connection to make with her mute status. Not a problem, at the time of the Christmas chapter ages ran like so: Mest - 14. Laxus - 13. Bickslow - 12. Evergreen - 10. Freed - 10. Wren - 6. This current chapter takes place in march of the next year, so the ages are currently: Wren - 7 (her birthday is in April, I'll try to cover it in a one-shot later. Maybe). Freed - 11 (birthday in Feb), Evergreen - 10 (birthday in June). Bickslow - 12 (birthday in May). Laxus - 13 (birthday in November, you'll recall). Mest - 14 (birthday in June). I hope that helps?**

 **Dear storyecho71, hello there! Thank you for your compliments! I hope you enjoy the latest chapter just as much!**

 **Author's Note: I'll try not to talk your ears off because the Review Response section was so long, but real quick, Kuna Longshanks made fanart of Adult!Wren! Check my profile for the link or look her up on deviant art (username is the same there as here) to take a look! She did a lovely job, even included Wren's future 'uniform' (because all anime characters have a distinctive outfit, have you noticed?). Secondly, minor cliffy warning, but not too bad. Thirdly, new character introduced! I hope you all like him. Finally, for my AMOSC and Femme Fatale fans, still working on it. About halfway done with the next AMOSC chapter, managed to make a bit of progress with Femme Fatale, but now Reborn is refusing to talk to me. I'll get there eventually though. Random thing, if I was to post a new story, would you all prefer an FFXV fix-it fic, a My Hero Academia one-shot collection featuring Quirk!Deku, or a collection of random crossover one-shots with anything I felt like at the time. The last one would occasionally feature me gleefully taking turns punting either my main cast from AMOSC or Wren into different universes just to see what would happen. Said crossovers would remain non-canon until either I said so or you guys convinced me to make something canon. Just random thoughts that I've been having, none of those three options would be posted anytime soon, but favor being shown to one or the other would encourage me to work on that favored item some more. Let me know if any of you are interested and which one you'd like to see most (I'd put a poll up, but I can't figure out how). Anyway! On to the chapter!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs who have run off with my plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Three: Vacation**

 **(Ten months, one week, five days since joining the Guild)**

.

"Have you heard? Circus Night tried to horn in on one of our jobs again." The snippet of conversation from across the guild hall made Wren's ears prick and she frowned mentally. If she remembered correctly, that made the eleventh incident within two months.

Circus Night was a small magic guild that was officially legal and specialized in item location and retrieval quests. Unofficially, there were a lot of rumors of illegal activities that had gotten them kicked out of their original patron town. The Magic Council had launched an investigation into them in January —one the Raijinshū had briefly gotten caught up in by happenstance, which was what attracted Wren's attention in the first place—, but hadn't found enough evidence to convict or disband Circus Night. The mere fact that they had been investigated at all had been enough to ruin the small guild's already shaky reputation and warned a lot of mages off from joining them and clients from sending job requests to them.

Now town-less and very nearly jobless, Circus Night's members had taken to swooping in during the jobs of other guilds, trying to complete the jobs before the assigned mages could and take the reward. While most of the larger guilds in the region had been subjected to the attempted job stealing at least a few times, it seemed that Fairy Tail was the one running into them the most. It never ended well for the Circus Night members who tried it, but several Fairy Tail members had come back with an impressive array of bruises, scratches, and even a broken limb or two to show for it.

Wren wasn't sure if the increased number of run-ins was just because of Fairy Tail Luck or if Circus Night had some kind of grudge against Fairy Tail. She had learned from one of the older members that Makarov and the Master of Circus Night had known each other since the latter was a teenager, but that their relationship had not been on good terms for years. She hadn't asked why they were on bad terms, but considering Fairy Tail Luck, she wouldn't be terribly surprised if the reason was enough for the Master of Circus Night to order his members to specifically target Fairy Tail.

Either way, it concerned her. She had no recollection of Circus Night from the anime, but this early on and with none of the main cast in sight, that meant nothing. Circus Night could very well have caused a lot of trouble before being stopped, or they could have been nothing more than a road-bump in the grand scheme of things. Wren had no way of knowing. Especially not with her own presence causing who-knew-what changes to the timeline just by being there-

A hand came down firmly but gently on her head, startling her out of her thoughts. Wren glanced up to see Laxus watching her out of the corner of his eye, "Need to get your notebook?"

Wren shook her head, then slowly traced out shadowy katakana for Laxus to read, _"I am fine. Just thought-"_ she rolled her eyes, banished the last symbol and replaced it with the correct one, _"_ ** _thinking_** _."_ She flipped the symbols around for Laxus to read and waited for his verdict.

Laxus eyed the script and his lips twitched, "Better. But you got 'I' and 'fine' backwards again." Wren felt like slamming her head on the table in frustration. Because of course she had.

As her grasp of the Japanese writing system had gotten better, Levy had suggested she get in more practice by using her shadows to write what she wanted to say instead of relying on her sign-language. While the language of hand-signs and whistles Bickslow and she had invented was just fine, it did severely limit her communication skills with anyone who wasn't a member of the _Raijinshū_ and rendered her completely incomprehensible to anyone who wasn't a member of Fairy Tail.

Thus the idea to become proficient at writing what she wanted to say with her shadows so that she could talk to clients and civilians freely even if she got separated from the other _Raijinshū_. It was a great idea in theory, but in practice it was frustrating. She had to remember to flip the symbols around when she was done writing so that others could read them and she **still** kept slipping up grammatically and writing the equivalent of Yoda-speak.

Honestly, she was beginning to wonder if she was cursed or something when it came to Japanese letters. Or dyslexic with grammar. Was that even a thing? She was in a world with talking cats and people who could eat fire, so it might legitimately be a thing. That or she was just impatient. It had only been around six months since Levy started helping her learn after all.

Laxus patted her back sympathetically, "You'll get there, Wren. Now what were you thinking so hard about? Looked like trouble." Wren started to wearily raise a hand and Laxus added, "You can take a break from writing if you want. I won't tell."

Wren flashed him a smile and gratefully switched back to her sign-language, _"Circus Night tried to steal another of our jobs right? They're getting bolder."_

Laxus made a face, "Oh, them. I know what you mean. I don't understand why _Jiji_ hasn't given us permission to just trounce them already."

"He's probably waiting for them to do something that even the Council will see as proper provocation. Otherwise Fairy Tail might get labeled as the aggressor." Wren twisted around in her seat and waved a greeting to Mest as he approached.

Laxus lolled his head back to eye Mest, "And repeatedly job-stealing and attacking our members isn't grounds enough for retaliation?"

Mest smiled thinly as he circled around to the other side of the table and slid onto the bench, "Not when it's Fairy Tail. We have a reputation for being 'hot-headed', 'impulsive', and 'needlessly destructive' among the Council."

Laxus gave a wordless scoff, Wren agreed with him. She had strongly suspected that the Magic Council was biased against Fairy Tail from what she'd seen in the anime, but apparently the bias was there long before Natsu ever came onto the scene to blow up harbor towns.

Laxus bared his teeth in a vaguely animalistic way before he changed the subject, "Whatever. How was your training with _Jiji_?"

Mest leaned his elbows on the table, "Good. I've finally got the first spell sequence memorized. Master thinks that at the rate I'm learning, he might let me actually test out the spell by the end of the year."

Wren tilted her head to one side, _"That's a long time."_

Mest waved a hand, "It's a really, really complicated and delicate spell even in it's most basic form. One mistake and, well," he made a grim face, "better to be absolutely safe than be reckless and sorry. I'm honestly still surprised he's letting me learn it at all, even with his supervision." Wren nodded and tried not to let her own unease show on her face. Mest hadn't told them what magic he had decided to learn from the old book Marco had given him for Christmas, arguing that he wanted it to be a surprise, but Wren thought she knew what it was already.

Teleportation hadn't been Mest's only magic in the anime after all, and she highly doubted that the knowledge of how to magically rewrite or delete a person's memory was something you could just look up in a library.

Oblivious to her thoughts, Mest looked around, "Where are the others?"

Laxus lazily flicked his gaze over the guild hall as he answered, "Evergreen's got detention after her temper tantrum in school yesterday. Freed is voluntarily sitting through it with her. Bickslow and Cana are on a job."

Mest jerked in surprise, "Without us?"

Laxus's upper lip curled to briefly reveal a pointed eye-tooth, "Yes. It was an in-town job that asked specifically for a Card Mage. Simple enough job and the reward was too small to split between all of us, especially since the rest of us wouldn't be able to actually help. Bickslow went along in case of Fairy Tail Luck."

Mest shot Wren an incredulous look, Wren shrugged uneasily. Laxus was not particularly pleased about two of the _Raijinshū_ going on a job without him, but Cana had made a good argument and Laxus knew that all seven of them going on every little job every time was overkill. Cana had managed solo jobs just fine before she'd joined the tribe and Bickslow was perfectly competent in hand-to-hand and with his tikis.

Laxus probably would have been happier if Wren had gone with them at least, but Wren was still grounded by Master Makarov after an Incident with a reporter from Sorcerer's Weekly getting into her personal space for pictures once too often.

She still maintained that he deserved it. But apparently Master Makarov thought chasing the annoying reporter around with a 3D shadow version of the Xenomorph from the Earth horror franchise and then having the shadow alien rip apart the reporter's camera and eat the pieces when it caught up with him was overkill.

Though, considering she'd only been grounded from taking missions for two weeks, but not from training or wandering around town, she suspected that the reporter —who hadn't been the annoying Cool™ blond from the anime, surprisingly enough— had gotten on the Master's nerves too with his invasive questions and disregard for anyone's personal space.

The double-doors of the guild flew open, interrupting Wren's musings, and she perked up at two familiar voices calling, "We're back!"

Laxus was already out of his chair and hurrying over to Bickslow and Cana, prowling around them to visually inspect their wellbeing from all angles before he calmed down, "How'd it go?"

Bickslow tongue-grinned, "It went great! Didn't even set anything on fire this time!"

Cana gave Bickslow a bland look, "Canvas awning?"

Bickslow shrugged, tongue-grin only growing bigger, "Okay, **one** thing. But that's still gotta be a record!" It probably was, and wasn't that a commentary about Wren's life with the _Raijinshū_ in and of itself?

The last of Laxus's subtle tension seeped away, fully restoring his usual, easygoing demeanor, "Bickslow only set one thing on fire? Now this I've got to hear about."

Bickslow was about to launch into the story when there was a loud clap from the second floor of the guild hall and everyone's attention was drawn to Master Makarov. Master Makarov was standing on the railing of the second floor, looking down over his assorted children with a strict eye. Wren wondered briefly what they'd done wrong this time.

Master Makarov folded his hands behind his back, "Everyone listen up! I have important news for you all! Rika-san from Twin Crow Resort just called to inform me that the family of her boss decided to reserve all of the resort's rooms for the first two weeks of June for a big family reunion they're having." Wren blinked at the massive wave of disappointed groans that echoed throughout the guild. What did a resort and its reservation plans have to do with Fairy Tail?

"So…" Master Makarov continued once the groans of despair had died down, "I decided to make our reservations now instead! Everyone go home and pack your things! All other jobs today are canceled! We will meet at the train station in an hour! We have a two weeks **vacation** to enjoy!" _Wait,_ ** _what_** _?_

Bickslow had a similar expression on his face, but before either of them could ask questions, Laxus and Cana had frantically dragged them out the door and down the street, barely avoiding a stampede of cheering guild members while Mest teleported away with the mutter of getting Freed and Evergreen. Bickslow nearly stumbled as Cana hauled him toward the lighthouse by the hand, "What's going on? Why is everyone yelling? Why are we running?"

Laxus had Wren's wrist firmly captured in one hand as they bolted down side streets and around startled pedestrians, "Every two years, _Jiji_ arranges for a vacation for the entire guild at the Twin Crow Resort for the first two weeks of June. He has for as long as I can remember. But now apparently something's come up and _Jiji's_ decided to have the vacation **now**. We need to hurry up and pack and get down to the train station, latecomers always get penalties for holding up the vacation."

Wren scrambled to both keep up with Laxus and get her whirling thoughts in some semblance of order. _What? What? Seriously? We're just supposed to up and go have a two week vacation with no prior notice? What about job requests? What about houses? Pets? Perishable food in the cupboards?_ ** _What about the guild that's been harassing us for months_** _? He's really having us just pack up and drop off the face of the earth for two weeks?_ ** _Just like that_** _?_

Apparently, the answer to all of those questions was "yes" because Wren spent the next twenty minutes desperately trying to organize the _Raijinshū's_ packing efforts. Spare changes of clothes had to be bagged according to owner and then packed in the only suitcase Mest could find —a giant thing she had never seen before and was sure hadn't been in any of the lighthouse closets before now—. Money had to be retrieved from the team funds and divided evenly amongst the members for potential expenses. And the electrical fire put out in the kitchen because apparently Laxus had looked at the oven wrong on his way up the stairs.

Ten minutes after **that** and the _Raijinshū_ stood in the train station, frazzled but triumphant because they were not the last people in the guild to show up and thus wouldn't be punished.

Of course, that was the moment Master Makarov spotted them and announced that while the _Raijinshū_ had done a good job getting to the train station so quickly, they had one person too many in their party. Wren was not allowed to come because apparently, since all missions were canceled during guild vacations anyway, the new terms of her punishment for traumatizing the reporter was that she could not come on the vacation. She had to stay in town for the two weeks until the rest of the guild got back.

The _Raijinshū_ nearly pulled a mutiny right there in the station, but Wren managed to calm them down and prevent them from doing more than accidentally blow up a few of the overhead lights —Laxus—, set fire to the schedule board —Bickslow who had been aiming for Master Makarov— and shatter a window —Cana had amazing pitch when she was furious—.

It took most of the time that remained before the train left to convince the _Raijinshū_ to go on the vacation without her. She almost thought she wouldn't win that particular fight, but she had gone to all the trouble of organizing their packing and it just wouldn't be fair for the real children of the team to miss out on the fun because of something she had done.

Mest tried to volunteer to stay behind, but Wren begged him to stay with the others because Laxus would need all the help he could get to keep the others in line. Bickslow had to be talked down from trying to hit Master Makarov with his tikis again, and Laxus looked like he had a migraine from trying to choose between going with the majority of his tribe or staying and protecting the "littlest".

In the end, Wren only managed to convince them to go by pointing out that the less members of Fairy Tail in the area there were, the less Fairy Tail Luck there was. So technically she would be much safer staying home than going with them to an unfamiliar place that was packed to the brim with trouble-attracting Fairy Tail members.

She also may or may not have used the Look to make them obey her and get on the train, but that was completely her business, thank you.

Finally, all the Fairy Tail members had been packed into the last few cars on the train line —the conductor had experience with their guild didn't want them anywhere near the engine of the train— and Wren waved them away with a heavy heart, a long list of "safety rules" to follow, and one of Cana's special SOS cards on top of her tracking card.

Wren sighed and rolled her eyes as the train disappeared into the distance. Missing out on the vacation was disappointing, but she **had** been worried about the house and she wasn't the only member staying behind. Wakaba had forgone the trip upon the request of his latest girlfriend, whom he actually seemed to be getting quite serious with. Magnolia was mostly inoculated to Fairy Tail Luck, so while she wasn't stupid enough to not expect trouble, Wren figured the biggest trial would be entertaining herself for the next two weeks.

She was mentally a full grown adult and physically a very capable mage despite her age. She could handle staying in Magnolia for two weeks by herself. It would be a bit like taking a vacation of her own, away from the chaos of the other _Raijinshū_ and Fairy Tail. It would fine. Right? Right.

.

.

.

So.

It turned out that Wren had no life. At least, not one outside of Fairy Tail, the _Raijinshū_ , and the chaos involved therein.

In her defense, those things usually took up all of her time quite handily. There was always a mission to go on, a fire to put out, bandits to beat up, or a host of other crazy things to do that had somehow become her new version of normal when she wasn't looking. She could even argue that there was nothing particularly wrong with that, as Fairy Tail was both her job and her family, which comprised the two most time-consuming chunks of anyone's life, not just her own.

Unless, of course, said job went on hiatus and said family went on vacation without her. Leaving Wren to discover that she had very little to do outside of those two things and that it was in fact possible to go insane from boredom. Why else would she miss the **daily brawls** —by far one of the most annoying things about Fairy Tail— so badly if she hadn't lost her mind from sheer lack of things to do?

The past eleven days had been spent diligently going to school —and trying not to prank the teacher out of frustration—, training by herself —she now knew how to make a clone of herself using her shadows, but the thing was a lazy jerk that refused to train with her no matter what she threatened—, and practicing her reading —she had officially moved on to chapter books about talking rocks! Someone kill her now while she still had dignity left—.

She had managed to shake things up a few days ago by grabbing her violin and improvising with her scales on street corners. It had earned her quite a bit of pocket change because apparently six-year-old street performers were adorable. Unfortunately, there was only so much violin playing she could do per day before her tiny hands cramped and so that was only about two or three hours of non-boredom in an otherwise unbearably long day.

She had known that the _Raijinshū_ was on the co-dependent side, but this was ridiculous. She was an adult —no matter what she looked like outwardly— and she should have been able to entertain herself without the aid of the actual children of the tribe!

"Yo! Excuse me!" The young voice jerked Wren out of her brooding and she looked over her shoulder, trying to identify to whom the speaker was calling out. She promptly had a near heart-attack from shock at the sight of an unmistakable shock of black hair and dark eyes jogging in her direction, "Hold up a minute!"

Wren barely had the presence of mind to slow her steps and point at herself in question. The approaching figure grinned and waved emphatically with the hand that wasn't pulling at his coat, "Yeah, you with the case! Wait up!" Wren stopped and stared as the boy jogged over to her. Naturally narrow dark blue eyes locked with round hazel as he came to a stop in front of her, obliviously plopping the coat he had just wiggled out of onto her shoes as he asked, "You know the way to a guild called Fairy Tail?"

And that was how she first officially met Gray Fullbuster.


	35. Chapter 34: Close Encounters

**Ta-da! Here with the next chapter and more Chibi!Gray! Also, blame Gray for the cliffhanger at the end of this chapter, I'd intended to do the end of the chapter from Wren's perspective which would have taken some of the cliffy-tension off of it, but Gray took over and ended the chapter there. So yeah.**

 **Review Response: Dear GerbilFriend, greetings! Oh, good, glad you enjoyed the music. Yes! Mini!Gray is here to cause oodles of trouble! I suppose it is a bummer Wren missed out on vacation, but if she hadn't, you wouldn't have gotten to meet Gray yet. So ... consolation prize to Wren?**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hey there! Maybe, we'll see if my muses feel like elaborating on the vacation or not. (snickers) that also means she's the only Fairy Tail member around for Gray's naturally occurring Fairy Tail Luck to latch onto and multiply. This is going to be so much fun for Wren (sarcasm puddles on the floor).**

 **Dear RedWolf Lover, hello there! So glad you enjoyed the update! Wren will probably let is slide the first few times, but as soon as he looses his boxers as well as his shirt, then there's going to be discipline. Taylor Davis actually sells printable sheet music on musicnotes . com. Just go to the website and look up "Fairy Tail Theme" then choose the one by Taylor Davis. It's only 4.99 and so pretty to play! Well, there are worse people to mimic the smile of, and Bickslow is adorable. Also, hello to your cat! I hope the two of you enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Dear Lightsbane1905, heya! True, but not as scary as when Wren feels like pranking annoying Fairy Tail members. Then she skulks about in the shadows making the shadows move in their peripheral vision while mimicking the Predator's clicking sound (which can be done without vocal cords, I've checked). Understandable. But Wren didn't have much of a choice but to hurry. Makarov loves trolling his adoptive kids sometimes. (chortles) Obviously. Because it wouldn't be Gray if he didn't do exactly that the moment he met her.**

 **Dear L'ceil, hi there! Actually, Wren is recently turned 7. Or is about to turn 7. I'd have to double-check my notes. Her birthday is pretty early in the year, so technically she's only two years behind the main cast. Though I think Erza is actually a year older than Gray and Lucy... Again, I'd have to check my notes.**

 **Dear Maxiforce, hello! Well, she does have her (work-in-progess) Shadow Script technique that she can use to talk to him, so maybe it won't go completely wrong?**

 **Dear EmberFlame03, greetings! Gray ahoy! Look out for impending Main Cast Level Fairy Tail Luck!**

 **Dear libra glitters, hello there! Aw, thank you for your lovely compliments! I'm so glad you like this story (cliffhangers aside)! I hope you enjoy the newest chapter (despite the cliffhanger)!**

 **Dear kalmaegi, heya! Wren REALLY needs to learn to stop making wishes, they always backfire spectacularly. (snickers) Overprotective Raijinshū is overprotective.**

 **Dear Smile4the-World, hey there! Yeah ... the Raijinshū are not going to be a fan of the shenanigans Gray gets Wren wrapped up in. (snorts) I'd think that Laxus would more be the one to worry about in that situation. Bickslow will hover protectively around Wren, LAXUS will go out and eliminate the perceived threat. Cana would help.**

 **Dear demonicKitsune2, hi! You are correct, this arc is an adaption of the events of Ice Trail Volume 2. It's no problem, I try to answer questions whenever I can (unless it would give spoilers of course). Yes, Wren will eventually learn Telepathy and possibly a few other magics (I can see her dabbling in common magics like fire and light), but that is a ways down the line. She's technically only been in the guild for a little under a year, I didn't want to load her up with too many cool magics right off the bat and make her OP (or more OP than any Fairy Tail member usually is just after joining). Wren's eye magic ... I don't really remember what inspired it actually. Huh. Anyway, as far as I know, her black hole does not have multiple 'levels' so to speak. As she trains it she will be able to do more with it (open more than one hole at once, etc) but so far the muses haven't said anything about other 'levels' to her eye magic. No, her eye magic does not open up to anywhere other than a rip in the fabric of space-time that is in the middle of space itself. Hope that answers that question?**

 **Dear KEZZ 1, hello! Glad to hear it! I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!**

 **Dear thatgirl221b, greetings! I updated as soon as I could, hope you enjoy!**

 **Dear Petra0suomesta, hello there! Well, this was as fast as I could update, Real Life and all that. Enjoy!**

 **Dear Unseen element, hey there! Introducing new characters is always fun. So much potential chaos. Hmmmm, that certainly sounds like something that would happen to Wren with her Luck, doesn't it? I hope you enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear TrackHer, hello! (dies laughing) Gray would never be able to show himself around the guild hall when the Raijinshū are around without at least four layers of clothing again if that happened! Enjoy the update!**

 **Dear WolfGirl01, hi there! Yep, she's going to get a terrifying nickname to match her reputation eventually, I already have on all picked out. It occurred to me that I never really wrote about Wren having hobbies, because her team keeps her so busy all the time, so I realized that taking the team away from her would lead to mass boredom. It was fun to write. Read on to find out what happens next!**

 **Dear NightsOfFire, hi! Well, I personally prefer love. And I recommend that you get used to cliffhangers because ... yeah, there's another one at the end of this chapter. Sorry. Blame Gray, he's the one who took of the end of chapter POV and ran off with it. As for why I do it ... didn't you just answer your own question? I'm an evil, evil person (winks and twirls imaginary villain mustache).**

 **Dear .2013, greetings! I'm so happy to hear you like my story despite the cliffhangers (I try not to do them, really I do, but the muses insist on ending chapters in certain places or they stop working with me). Well, I try to do monthly updates, but I don't always succeed. I have several stories that need my attention and Real Life taking precedence on top of it all so ... sometimes stuff just gets delayed.**

 **Dear The Utterly Fabulous Z, heya! Methinks that my Gray fangirl/boy senses are tingling, yes? (laughs) Enjoy!**

 **Dear najamuzen, hiya! Of course she does, because Wren has the weirdest of all the Fairy Tail Luck and it only gets weirder when she's on her own. Well, maybe. I'm not sure who is going to meet the rest of the Main Cast first, but it would be amusing if Wren somehow managed to stumble across them all before the rest of Fairy Tail. We'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Dear Captain343Spark, hi! (dies of bad puns. Revives.) I would pun WRITE back at your review, but all my friends SNOW that I suck at them. (ahem), I'll just go back to my Pun Corner of Shame now, care to join me?**

 **Dear** **LucilliaNovaDreyar, hello! Enjoy the update!**

 **Dear Sweets and Tarts, hiya! Ah-ha! Someone else who had read Ice Trail! I was wondering how many people who read Ice Trail would read this story too. I hope you enjoy the adaptions that Wren's presence will cause!**

 **Dear koseta.a, greetings! So happy to hear it! Enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Dear Azrael de Angelo, hello there! I know I do. At least this way, if you ever decide to reread this story, the cliffhangers won't be so bad anymore. Hmm, I certainly wouldn't mind Wren and Gray becoming pals, but we'll have to see what the characters decide. They do seem like they'd have a similar sense of humor though...**

 **Dear WelcomeToTheLoser'sClub, hey there! Welcome fellow fangirl/boy of Gray! Come and enjoy the chaos of Gray's first encounters with Fairy Tail kind!**

 **Dear Yui0198, heya! Read on and find out! I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Dear Some Random Dude, hello there! I actually wanted to introduce Gray earlier in the chapter, but he insisted on a dramatic entrance. The dramatic cliffy ending continue in this chapter too (again, Gray's fault), just a heads up.**

 **Dear Tabs, hi! Aw, thank you! I love it when other people enjoy the stories and characters I work so hard on! Poor Wren, Main Cast Fairy Tail Luck is 1000% more chaotic than normal Fairy Tail Luck, especially on the first encounters...**

 **Dear cl9763, greetings! Chaos is a blast to write, especially watching it unfold from a safe distance. Well, I kinda had to, I mean, they had to learn to read, write, and maths somewhere right? Besides, sticking poor Wren in school again was too much to resist.**

 **Author's Note: First off, CLIFFY WARNING. There. Now, in respects to this chapter and the following one, the events in this arc are actually based on the wonderful little manga Ice Trail, specifically volume 2. The author of that deserves much love and support for making such a lovely story and characters that fit in so well with Mashima's overarching plot. Pauz and Doronbo are also not my OCs, but belong to the author of the story Ice Trail. They are fun to play with though. I think that's it? So onward to the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Four: Ice Trail - Close Encounters**

 **(Ten months, three weeks, two days since joining the Guild)**

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It took a full twenty seconds of wide-eyed staring before Gray's expression shifted to one of discomfort and irritation and he snapped, "Well? Do ya or don't ya?"

"I think you broke her, Gray-san." The second voice —soft and amused and as young as Gray's— managed to drag Wren's gaping stare away from the ice mage to take in her surroundings at last. The second voice belonged a young boy no older than Gray, with shaggy blond hair, thick square glasses that screamed "adorable geek", and a large backpack. Following at the boy's heels was a teenager in what looked to be dull yellow footie pajamas with an enormous hood and black swirls embroidered all over the onesie.

The teenager smirked, "You might have better luck with the ladies if you introduce yourself to them **first** , then take off your clothes, kid." Both Wren and Gray looked back at the child ice mage, then down at the shirt, cargo pants, snow boots, and wool socks puddled pathetically on top of the coat that was still sitting on Wren's favorite boots. Gray turned bright red and sputtered an unintelligible mix of excuses, curses, and apologies as he snatched up the discarded clothes and wiggled back into them. Wren tried very hard not to laugh even as a part of her internally flailed.

Because Gray was here in Magnolia **right now** and the **rest of Fairy Tail wasn't**. How was Gray supposed to join the guild when they weren't even supposed to be back for another three days? She couldn't remember if the anime had ever covered how Gray joined the guild, but surely it hadn't been by making Gray wait around three days to even talk to anyone from Fairy Tail.

Well, she was here, but she hadn't been in the anime timeline and that left only **Wakaba** in town right now, which would have been a disaster in the making with his horrible sense of humor and how busy he was with his new girlfriend.

She was dragged out of her thoughts as Gray finished wiggling into his coat and the blond boy politely stepped forward and held out his hand, "I apologize for Gray-san's … unusual habits. He did not meant to startle you like that. I am Pauz, and this," he gestured to the snickering teenager, "is Doronbo-san. We just arrived in Magnolia."

Gray humphed and seemed to recover his composure, "We need to find the Fairy Tail Guild, can you tell us how to get there?"

Wren raised an eyebrow as she shook Pauz's hand and debated what to do about the question. There was no one in the guild building to talk to anyway, but she wasn't terribly confident in her ability to write out an acceptable explanation for their absence that wouldn't risk driving Gray away. In the end, she sighed and gestured for them to follow her, figuring that they had probably found the guild hall and read the note on the door themselves in the previous timeline, and Gray would decide to stick around anyway. Hopefully.

She was curious about the other two though, she didn't remember them from the anime at all. Had they just been background Fairy Tail members? But Gray seemed fairly attached to them, though with the teen it was more in an antagonistic way like his relationship with Natsu in the future.

"Thank you for showing us the way, um…" Pauz's words trailed off as he realized that Wren hadn't told them her name. That, at least, she could do with her shadows, so she twisted a few shadow tendrils into the shape of her name and spun the kanji around so that they could read it properly.

Gray's eyes lit up in an endearingly childish way, "Wren, huh? So you can use magic too! Are you a member of Fairy Tail then?"

Wren paused in surprise at the silly question, because her guild mark was very plainly visible on her shoulder … then she realized that she was still wearing the jacket she'd thrown on that morning when it was particularly chilly and the clothing article covered her mark. Wren smiled over her shoulder at Gray and nodded.

Gray walked faster so that he was at her side, Pauz quietly shifted to walk on Gray's other side and Doronbo seemed content to amble after them in his glorified footie-onesie. Gray placed his arms behind his head, "What's it like? Being in a guild, I mean. Are they super strong?"

Wren traced out her response as quickly and accurately as she could, idly noticing the puzzled looks on the boys' faces as she wrote, _"It's crazy, but fun. Fairy Tail is strug-"_ She backed up and rewrote, _"Strong. Fairy Tail is strong."_

Gray tilted his head to one side and squinted at her, "How come you won't talk? As cool as your magic is, talkin' is easier than scribbling stuff in the air." Wren smiled tightly at the blunt, unintentionally callous question. If she'd been Erza, she might have slapped him for being so rudely blunt, but she decided to let it slide this time as he didn't mean to be cruel —and wasn't officially Fairy Tail yet—. Instead, she unzipped the top of her jacket and pulled down the turtleneck of her shirt so that he could fully see the ugly scar running from the left side of her chin to the right side of her collarbone.

Gray stumbled, his arms dropping from behind his head in surprise as he stared at the old wound. Pauz sucked in a quiet breath, eyes wide behind his glasses, and Doronbo hissed quietly, flinching away from the sight as if it might hurt him just to look. Wren adjusted her turtleneck so that it covered most of the scar again and zipped up her jacket. She glanced over at Gray again and was surprised by the dark look in his gaze, "Who did that to you?" There was an edge, a growl in his voice that caught her off guard. He sounded almost like he was ready to go for war on her behalf despite only knowing her for a few minutes.

Wren had always thought that instant loyalty was a trait Fairy Tail trained into its members, but now she had to wonder if Fairy Tail just happened to attract people who already had that trait in their personalities, _"It was long ago. The man who did it…"_ was in another dimension, probably serving a very long jail sentence for accidental manslaughter, _"is not around anymore."_ She tried to smile reassuringly, but from the look on the three boys' faces, it wasn't working.

Doronbo shuffled a bit, "Was it because you were a part of Fairy Tail? A … a mission gone wrong?"

Wren shook her head, _"No. I wasn't a …"_ what was the word for fairy again? Oh, right, _"Fairy then."_

"So you were just a normal kid." That seemed to make Gray even unhappier and Pauz visibly uncomfortable, but the ice mage dropped the subject without any further commentary.

Wren was saved from having to come up with any further conversation when they rounded the corner and the guild building came into view. Gray lit up, a mix of elation and nervousness on his face as he bolted forward, running for the doors without waiting for any of his companions. Doronbo muttered something under his breath about recklessness, and Wren thought she saw something worried and melancholy flicker over Pauz's face. The expression worried her, niggled some instinct she had, and Wren made a mental not to keep an eye on the boy. She didn't want to think badly of him —he seemed like a very nice kid— but if trouble was following him, she didn't want to be caught off guard.

The three of them caught up with Gray just as the boy was taking a deep breath, visibly trying to calm his nerves, "Okay," Gray muttered, "time to-"

Pauz was the one to interrupt while Wren braced for the impending eruption, "Gray-san, there's a piece of paper on the door…"

Gray gave a startled noise and reexamined the door. He stared at the note for several long seconds, "A-away…?" The ice mage seemed to process the implications very slowly. Then, just as Wren had anticipated, " **What do they MEAN 'away'**?"

Pauz gave a helpless gesture, then shamelessly threw Wren to the wolves, "Wren-san? Did you know about this?"

Wren nodded reluctantly. Gray rounded on her, "Why didn't you **tell me** everyone else was gone? And what do they mean for 'a while'?"

 _"_ _You didn't ask. They should be back in-"_ It took her a minute to remember the correct spelling for three —who needed over five different ways to spell the number three anyway?— _"three days. I think."_

Gray seemed to wilt to the pavement, "Three days? You **think**? But I came all this way…"

Pauz studied the guild building critically for a moment before he turned a surprisingly worried gaze on Wren, "They left you here all alone, Wren-san?"

Wren scowled, she was only two years younger than Pauz physically if she was estimating his age correctly, _"I can take care of myself. Besides, there is one more member in town in case something happens."_ She was fairly certain she'd Yoda-spoke at least half that sentence, but she still managed to get her point across. She hoped.

Gray sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "What do I do now?"

On cue, his stomach rumbled and Doronbo slapped the ice mage on the shoulder easily, "We'll figure it out later, kid! Now, let's go get something to eat!"

Wren obligingly led them in the direction of _The Secret Ingredient_ , though she split off from them once they were in sight of the restaurant to teleport to the lighthouse and stash her violin safely under her bed. She wasn't an idiot, if Gray was in town, the Fairy Tail Luck in the area was almost guaranteed to skyrocket and she was **not** risking her precious instrument in whatever craziness was about to go down. She teleported back via the shadow under their table. She ended up scaring Doronbo straight off his chair in the process and he was promptly teased by Gray for screaming higher than most little girls Wren's age could.

Aengus-san had remembered Wren from her first job months ago and, after Wren had discreetly signaled that her new friends were potential Fairy Tail recruits, had graciously —boisterously— given them a discount on their lunches. Once the food was served and Gray's ravenous appetite appeased, he went back to complaining about the impromptu disappearance of Fairy Tail, "Seriously, who does that? Where did they even go Wren-chan?"

Wren shrugged, she had no idea how to spell vacation and wasn't in the mood for charades. Gray continued to grumble, "And really, what kind of people are these Fairy Tail guys that they'd leave a little kid all by herself for who knows how long with no explanation?"

Wren started to bristle in automatic defense of her guild —even though Gray was completely correct from an outsider's perspective— when someone piped up from where he was drinking at another table, "What, you guys have some business with them?" Wren blinked, she hadn't even noticed Wakaba was there, drinking ale about two tables away. He was surprisingly quiet without Macao around to wind him up or to tease.

Wakaba took another draw from his tankard —how he managed that while still smoking a cigarette was beyond Wren— and sneered, "Forget about them. Nothing good comes from dealing with them." Wren blinked, why was he pretending not to be a member? Check that, why was he pretending to be a non-member who dared to badmouth Fairy Tail? Only Fairies got to talk trash about the guild, and even then they only talked trash about specific members of the guild to **other** members of the guild. Trash-talk was very exclusive in Fairy Tail. It was one of the sacred unspoken rules.

Gray half-bristled, though his gaze was curious as he left their table to stand near Wakaba's, "What do you know about Fairy Tail, old man?"

Wren was impressed that Wakaba managed to hide his usual, knee-jerk aggression to being called old. Instead, the pompadour enthusiast just took another long swig before he answered blithely, "I know you should keep your distance from them."

Gray glanced over his shoulder at Wren, who was still too baffled to really react. Her attention was dragged partially away from Wakaba and Gray when Pauz muttered that he had to use the bathroom and quietly slipped away from the table. Doronbo got up to follow a few seconds later, but Wren didn't really notice that as Gray and Wakaba had somehow managed to start brawling in the five seconds she'd taken her eyes off them. _Yep. Definitely Fairy Tail material._

She watched them fight for about two minutes, allowing them to get it out of their system until they started to knock over tables and annoy the other customers. She then ambled over to the edge of the conflict and turned on her Look. Wren mentally congratulated herself when Wakaba froze mid-punch, eyes going wide behind his sunglasses even though he was at the wrong angle to actually see her glaring. Recently, the more trouble-prone Fairy Tail members had developed the ability to **sense** when her Look was being leveled at them now as long as they weren't involved in too large and distracting a brawl. She figured that at the rate she was going, with more practice —and a more intimidating physical age—, she'd eventually be able to bring entire brawls to heel with just her Look.

Gray —not being trained to respond to her Look or fear its consequences yet— didn't stop and Wakaba yelped in indignation when Gray took advantage of Wakaba's freeze to yank on the man's precious pompadour. Wakaba yowled and almost restarted the fight when Wren cranked up the intensity of her Look, using her shadows to slap Gray on the back of his head as she did so. Gray jerked in surprise and then glared at her, "What are you doing? He's talking trash about your guild!"

Wren gave Wakaba a side-long, hooded variation of her Look —the one that was basically pure sarcasm and irritation incarnate— and was gratified when it made the man wither in place, _"It's fine. He's allowed to trash-_ ** _talk_** _trash. But only a little bit."_

Gray blinked at her, "Huh?"

Wren temporarily ignored Gray as she softened her Look to a regular deadpan and addressed Wakaba in her sign-language, _"Stop harassing the new kid. He's been through enough trying to get here without you picking a fight."_ Granted, she didn't know that for certain, but considering Gray's already disturbingly Fairy Tail-esque tendencies and how far away the northern continent was, she figured it was a safe bet that Gray had gone through his fair share of adventures to reach Magnolia. Plus, there was the entire Deliora debacle that made him leave his home continent in the first place, but nobody was supposed to know about that yet.

Wakaba chuckled sheepishly as he separated from Gray and stood up, "Eh-heh-heh. Sorry, Wren-chan, I just wanted to see how serious he was about meeting Fairy Tail. But if you like him, I guess he'll do fine."

Gray looked increasingly confused. Doronbo returned about that time and made vague squawking noises at the clear signs of the fight that had just happened. Wakaba dusted off his jacket, fluffed his pompadour and nodded to Gray, "Sorry about that kid, pretend I didn't say any of that stuff."

Gray blinked at Wakaba about three times before he decided he wasn't getting an answer to his question and it wasn't worth trying and glanced over at Doronbo, "Hey, where's Pauz? He's taking a while."

Doronbo froze and his eyes went wide with clear guilt before he looked away, "Pauz-kun … might not be coming back…"

Wren raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, but Gray looked stricken, "Might not be coming back…? What do you mean by that?"

Doronbo shifted weight guiltily from foot to foot, "I don't know, but he walked off right in front of me."

Gray looked like he couldn't comprehend what Doronbo was saying and Wren wondered what the boys had gone through that Gray was so certain of Pauz's loyalty … and why Pauz had apparently run off without a word, "Pauz just … walked off…?"

Doronbo looked at the ground in clear shame, "Sorry. I wasn't able to stop him either…"

Gray's breath hitched and a second later he was running down the street, already screaming Pauz's name and ignoring Doronbo's frantic calls after him. Wakaba was making a comment on the situation, but Wren ignored him in favor of charging after Gray. She didn't know why Pauz was so clearly important to Gray, and she didn't know why the blond had run off when he'd seemed genuinely attached to Gray in return.

But considering she had never even **heard** of Pauz in the anime, she was terrified of what would happen if Gray didn't find the other boy in time.

 **.**

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* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Gray finally slowed to a stop only because the stitch in his side had finally gotten too painful to ignore. He had been running up and down the unfamiliar streets of Magnolia for hours, searching for Pauz and calling his name, but hadn't found **anything**. Gray dropped down onto the curb, trying to ignore both the burn in his lungs and his eyes as he gritted his teeth. Why had Pauz disappeared on him? He didn't understand. Pauz might have been a bit … weird —because bookworms were not supposed to have blind berserk rages, even ones who knew how to magically weaponize their books— but Pauz was his **friend**. He wouldn't run off without saying goodbye first, without saying **why**. Right?

Except apparently he was wrong, because Pauz was gone and no one in town had seen any sign of him.

A soft shuffle alerted him to Wren's return and he looked up hopefully. She had been helping him look for Pauz all this time —climbing up onto rooftops with freaky speed and agility to look for him from a better vantage point— but so far hadn't had any better luck. The look on her face as she silently handed him his coat, shirt, and shoes —icicles, when had he taken those off?— and sat down next to him told him that she hadn't had any better luck since splitting off from him to search the town an hour ago. Gray took the items with a nod and stubbornly swallowed back the burning in his eyes, "I don't get it … why would he just **leave** like that? It isn't-"

 _Snow biting his face and ears, a rectangle of light shining out from a cabin door at his back, "Leave and you are no longer my student!" Hatred and fear and pain-pain-pain that drove him on, drove him to snarl lies-lies-lies and make him walk away from his mo- from his mentor and his bro- his fellow student, toward the only thing that mattered-_

Gray shook his head violently to banish the memories and gritted his teeth, _This is different! Pauz is different! There's no demons here, Pauz doesn't have anyone to fight! And if he did, I would help him, he_ ** _knows that_** _. So why did he-?_ A gentle hand on his bare arm startled him out of his thoughts and he jerked away from the foreign touch. Gray couldn't stop the snarl that left his lips as he glared at Wren, " **What**?"

She didn't recoil from his biting tone or tear up like a little girl her age should have. She just calmly retracted her hand and used it to write the air with her magic, _"Fine it will be. We find him will. Promise."_ Gray snorted and glared at the cobblestones, trying to ignore the guilt that now nagged at him for snapping at her. She had done nothing but be helpful ever since meeting him, despite his less than stellar first impression. She had shown them to her guild building, then showed them a cheep place with good food, had helped search for Pauz…

And now he was yelling at her just for being worried about him. Pathetic.

Gray was almost glad when he heard Doronbo dash up. Any distraction —even the coward thief— was a welcome one from the stewing pot of _grief-guilt-confusion-hurt_ swirling in the pit of his stomach. Doronbo only sounded vaguely winded as he asked worriedly, "Did you find Pauz-kun?"

Gray shook his head, "No. I couldn't find him anywhere."

Doronbo looked guiltily at the ground, "W-well … I'm sure he has his reasons."

Gray felt his temper rear its ugly head again, but before he could retort, another voice called out, "Yo! So you two are still wandering around town?"

Gray eyed the old man from the restaurant, the one that Wren had —for some weird reason— allowed to badmouth her guild, "You're that guy from before." He felt an eyebrow twitch as the old man lifted a tankard to his lips —didn't that belong to the restaurant?— and took a deep swig of it, "Are you **still** drinking?"

The old man ignored the question, just shuffled the cigarette in his mouth and eyed Gray and Doronbo through his sunglasses, "It's starting to get dark. What're you two doing for the night?"

Gray blanched as he realized that he hadn't even considered that and, come to think of it, he didn't really have any money left to afford a hotel room, "Oh…"

Any hopes he'd had that Doronbo might have some spare cash on him —he was a thief after all, even if he wasn't a very good one—, were squashed by the teen commenting feebly from behind, "We, eh, haven't decided yet…?"

The old man nodded slowly as if considering this. A light pat on the arm drew Gray's attention back to little Wren, who was already pointing down a side street with one hand while she wrote with the other, _"You two stay with me can. Lighthouse plenty room for guests has."_

Gray felt a wave of relief and started to smile when the old man visibly bristled, "No! Absolutely not, Wren-chan! You are far too young and little and vulnerable to-!" Her gaze snapped over to the old man and the sweet expression on her face melted to a surprisingly terrifying death glare for a seven-year-old. The old man immediately blanched and backtracked, "I-I-I- just mean- W-well you see- It's just- It isn't proper for a girl your age Wren-chan! You don't know anything about those boys!"

Wren was visibly unmoved by the stammered excuses, her fingers flashing in what looked like a bunch of nonsense gestures. The old man seemed to understand them though, as he paled further and protested weakly, "Come on, Wren-chan, be reasonable! Laxus would **skin me alive** if he knew I let you take two strange boys home with you, no matter how good your magic is! Let me take them to my girlfriend's place, won't yah? She has an extra guest room and loves kids and everything!"

Another round of meaningless —to Gray's eyes anyway— gestures and the old man's face when from fish pale to scarlet, "That isn't- I- How do you even-? We wouldn't do **that** with guests in the house!" Wren looked distinctly unimpressed by the old man's wild stammering. Instead, she rolled her eyes and pointedly signaled for Gray and Doronbo to follow her. The two boys shared a puzzled glance, but Wren had been pretty nice to them so far, so they obediently fell in step behind her.

The old man wobbled drunkenly after them, protesting and whining about the impropriety of it all the entire way and begging for Wren to reconsider. Gray idly wondered why an adult was begging for a little kid to change her mind instead of just ordering her, and why she let the old man follow them and nag at her even though it clearly irritated her.

Gray eyed the old man in annoyance as he finally aired his question to Wren, "Why are you letting him follow us around anyway? And why did you let him badmouth your guild?"

Wren shot the old man a dark look that had him stumbling —why was an old man like him terrified of a kid anyway?— before she began to answer Gray's question, _"Harmless he is, means well he. Also, member is he of-"_ her hand dropped as she suddenly shifted into a tense, alert stance, like a wild thing that had just scented a predator. Almost before Gray could realize her change in attitude, she had dived to one side.

Just in time to avoid the strange bubbles that formed around Gray, Doronbo, and the old man.

Gray flailed as he floated in his empty bubble —balloon?—, "Wha-!"

The bubbles —Gray smelled rubber, definitely balloons— began to float into the air and Doronbo wailed, "What's happening? We're rising!"

Gray managed to right himself inside his balloon and looked down in time to see five spearlike tendrils of shadow shoot out from a darkened corner toward three really weird-looking strangers that had just shown up out of nowhere. The tendrils were swatted aside by the largest of the three, whose arms didn't seem to be attached to the rest of his bulbous body. A shrill laugh filled the air from the second one, a weirdo with his face where his stomach should be and a mass of balloons where his head belonged, "Oh~! Looks like she's a feisty one! Hold still, girlie!"

Wren sprinted across the cobblestones instead of holding still, a wave of shadows rising after her like a wake in clear preparation to attack. Just as she twisted around to charge the three men, there was a loud noise of something inflating and Wren was suddenly trapped in her own balloon same as the rest of them. Her teeth bared in a silent snarl, a shadow curling down her hand to form claws as she raised it in preparation to strike the balloon. The man with a face for a middle gave another peal of obnoxious laughter, "I wouldn't do that, girlie! Not if you don't want to **explode~**!"

Wren's hand stopped short, her expression shifting to something far darker than a kid her age should be capable of. The old man snarled as he flailed in the air inside his balloon, "Circus Night! What do you think you're doing in our town?"

The annoying middle-face man clapped his hands together and chortled, "Can't you figure it out? Hah! Shoulda figured such a **dumb guild** would only attract **dumb** members~!"

The old man's face shifted to one of rage that almost matched the ferocity on Wren's, "Say that one more time, I dare you!"

The third figure huffed in quiet amusement and Gray felt his blood freeze as a soft, familiar voice that filtered from under the black hood, "At least you can **act** tough … Fairy Tail mage Wakaba Mine." _It can't be. He wouldn't. But that voice-!_

The old man- Wakaba's fists were clenched tight, "You guys really think you can stand against us and **get away with it**? In our own town?"

The hooded figure —who couldn't be who Gray thought it was, he just couldn't— turned to Middle-face, "Do it."

Middle-face gave a whoop of shrill laughter as the odd white paper-thing in the center of his balloon cluster opened, "Your turn~! Your turn~!" Something shot out from the white orb and Wakaba's balloon exploded with enough force to send the other three bobbing crazily in the air. Gray watched in horror as Wakaba hit the cobblestones with a lifeless thud, foul-smelling smoke curling off of his limp form —like the buildings in his hometown and the sweet stench of rot from the bodies split open in the streets- no don't think about that—. Middle-face and the huge round one laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. Gray felt oddly sick.

Middle-face clapped his hands together again, "One down~! One more to go!" _One more- he means-!_

Gray pounded the confines of his balloon wildly with his fists, not caring if he punctured it and blew up, "Don't touch her! She's just a kid! **Leave her alone**!"

The hooded figure held up a hand in the signal to halt, "Don't. We'll take her with us in the balloon. She's too small. She might not survive the explosion and we need them alive. For now." The sound of the figure's voice sickened him because he **knew** who that sounded like but he didn't want to believe that someone as kind and polite as his friend would be doing —leading— this kind of attack. Middle-face protested the hooded figure's orders, his voice shrill and childishly indignant. Out of the corner of his eye, Gray thought he saw Wren's face twist to something grim and determined, but then his spinning thoughts jolted to a stop as a second explosion rang out through empty streets.

Wren's balloon had just exploded.

" **No**!" Gray felt his stomach twist as he screamed. Then felt it outright heave when he realized there was no body amid the curling smoke and falling balloon fragments. _She- she couldn't have-, she can't be…_

"I said not to blow up that balloon!" The hooded figure's voice had risen to a near-shout as he rounded on Middle-face.

Middle-face just shrugged unapologetically and cackled, "Wasn't me~! She did that to herself! Keh, didn't think I'd made the balloon **that** volatile but weak little wizards are so flammable~."

 _She's really…_ Rage boiled over, sweeping away the disbelief that had kept Gray's tongue pinned in his mouth and he screamed, "What are you doing? You just murdered her!" The hooded figure didn't react and Gray slammed his fist against the balloon wall again, "Don't ignore me! I can tell by your voice who you are! Answer me! **Pauz, answer me**! **PAUZ**!"

Pauz didn't move, didn't react, didn't answer. He tilted his head toward Middle-face, "They saw us. Do it." Gray didn't even have time to scream before the balloons holding him and Doronbo exploded.

Gray hit the cobblestones with an agonizing jolt, his body one mass of throbbing pain as darkness filled the edges of his vision in an all-to-familiar way that meant impending unconsciousness. Through the ringing in his ears, Gray heard Pauz order the other two to take Wakaba and go. Gray struggled to move, to speak, anything to get an explanation for why someone as kind as Pauz —who got angry over imprisoned baby animals of all things, let alone people— would be doing this. All he got before unconsciousness claimed him was Pauz's mournful murmur of, "I'm so sorry, Gray-kun."


	36. Chapter 35: True Identity

**I return with the next chapter! Had this finished for a week or more now, but I just couldn't find time to edit and post until now. Plus the FFXV muses are slowly eating me alive... Anyway! On to Gray's shenanigans and future Fairy Tail Ice Mages punching bad guys in the face!**

 **Review Response: Dear Keiolsha, hello! Well, technically he doesn't, because he just met her and doesn't understand the full extent of Fairy Tail Durability yet. Read on to find out what happened!**

 **Dear Smile4the-World, greetings! Of course they are, what ELSE could have happened when Gray showed up in town for the first time? Well, Wren's being lenient because A. she's still in awe at meeting one of the MC and B. Gray isn't a member yet, so technically he's out of her jurisdiction. The first time he loses his boxers in her presence will no doubt lead to proper discipline. Hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

 **Dear RedWolf Lover, hi there! I do too, which is one of the reasons I included him in the story instead of making up my own entrance for Gray. You'll see... glad to be here and I hope you enjoy!**

 **Dear Lightsbane1905, heya! Yep, she does. Ironically, though she got the look from Erza and Mira, in this timeline, Erza and Mira will probably learn it from HER. (cackles), boys beware, the she-demons are multiplying. It doesn't have punching bad guys in the face though, a lack that this chapter will remedy.**

 **Dear aoi588, hello there! Ummm, nothing I can say to that without giving away spoilers. Aw, you're welcome! It's wonderful to** **know that you like my characters and think I've captured at least some of the charm of the original story!**

 **Dear YourFriendBob, greetings! Cool! I hope that by now you have read Ice Trail and enjoyed it, because the author did a really good job (in my opinion) on detailing Chibi-Gray's adventures!**

 **Dear Squishy4953, hello! Glad to hear! SI-OCs do get repetitive don't they? I'm glad you find mine interesting (even if she technically isn't an SI, all she has is my sense of sarcasm, love of pantherlily, taste in music-, you know what, let's just go with SI-OC...) Sorry this took so long, I have a lot of projects that are all screaming for attention. Hope it's worth the wait!**

 **Dear kalmaegi, greetings! It's Gray, of course it escalated quickly (the bandit chase at the beginning of Phoenix Priestess anyone?). (dies laughing at Doronbo's) How did I not get the pun before? HOW? I mean, I knew it was a pun, but I never connected it to "thief" for some reason. That is priceless.**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hello! Read on to both find out the answer to your questions and see Fairy Tail vengeance unleashed!**

 **Dear KEZZ 1, hiya! Glad you liked it, hope you enjoy the newest one!**

 **Dear poukie-scrapbook, hi there! Thank you for your patience! I try to update when I can but, well, Real Life and all that. The meeting is based off of the manga Ice Trail, which I highly recommend for a light read and a peek into mini-Gray's adventures prior to Fairy Tail. I suppose I can see what you mean, but remember that most of his flashback interaction in the anime is him facing down either his rival Natsu or Erza, the girl he fears/has a crush on, so of course he would act more prideful and aggressive around them. Wren is neither, physically younger, and polite to him despite his stripping habit, thus, he doesn't need to put on such an aggressive front. I hope that makes sense? Yeah, I had fun with the outsider perspective moment. Enjoy the update!**

 **Dear Gerbilfriend, heya! Well, tension is what I was going for, so yay for success! They do actually, it'll be interesting to see them interact as they grow up (not pairing them up romantically though, I'm a big Gruvia shipper).**

 **Dear EmberFlame03, greetings! (grins) Which is exactly why Wren should never, ever admit to boredom, because then something like this will happen.**

 **Dear Sweets and Tarts, hello! I should probably be more sympathetic to that, but it's so nice to know I can make an effective cliffhanger even when you have a semi-spoiler alert already. Still, this will hopefully solve the cliffhanger issues for you. Enjoy!**

 **Dear AnerianJames, hi there! 1. I know you do, I do to, but my muses love them and what they say goes. 2. Hope you enjoy the newest chapter! It's got bad guys getting punched in the face!**

 **Dear Captain343Spark, greetings! (sighs heavily and shakes head with a smile) I'm not even going to try to start a pun war, because I know I will lose. Have fun thinking up puns for the next chapter!**

 **Dear IShipItHard13, hi! I'm so pleased you like the story so much! After seeing how Freed acts in the anime around Laxus, I couldn't resist slipping that description in, it's just so appropriate. Everything will work out for Wren and the others in the end, though this is really only going to add to Laxus and Bickslow's overprotective helicopter sibling habits, no matter how BAMF Wren becomes. Enjoy the newest chapter!**

 **Dear leah2221998, hello! ksldfhoagnirtdfjbgwf! (translation: Thank you for reading and enjoy the update!)**

 **Dear WolfGirl01, greetings! Hmm, maybe not, we'll have to see what kind of magical burn salves Porlyusica has. Gray and Wakaba's interactions were mostly paraphrased from the Ice Trail manga, with some adaption to fit in Wren, but I'm glad you enjoyed them and I'm glad to hear that you thought his reaction believable.**

 **Dear 4everreader3, hello there! Well, hopefully this is soon enough because this was the soonest time I had. Enjoy!**

 **Author's Note: Almost finished with the Gray Introduction Arc! Hope you all enjoy it! Also for my transformers and Ballad readers: still working on it. The AMOSC chapter has evolved into a sixty-page juggernaut that still refuses to let me finish and post it and I am so close to finishing the Ballad one-shot I can almost taste it. Of course, the taste is bitter and depressing because of course it's a serious chapter I'm stuck on and not a light-hearted prankster chapter like what I want to move on to... anyway, hopefully I'll have those done and up sometime within the reasonable near future. Hopefully.**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, Ice Trail, or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs who have skulked off with my plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Five: Ice Trail - True Identity**

 **(Ten months, three weeks, three days since joining the Guild)**

.

Wren woke up to the not-unfamiliar sensation of her entire body throbbing like one big bruise. Her head especially felt like she had just gone several rounds with one of Fairy Tail's guild hall tables and lost spectacularly. _Ugh… what? Where? Laxus? Bickslow?_ She focused on breathing through her nose, not daring to open her eyes until her equilibrium stopped spinning and her short-term memory —assuming it hadn't been destroyed by the latest bout of Fairy Tail Luck— came back.

Her last memories trickled in with agonizing slowness. Meeting Gray and his two friends. Taking them to Fairy Tail. Taking them to The Secret Ingredient. Pauz going missing. Searching for Pauz. Inviting Gray and Doronbo to stay in the Lighthouse for the night despite Wakaba's protests…

Ambush.

Her eyes snapped open against her better judgement and Wren hissed at the newest wave of pain it caused. She feebly raised a hand to her forehead, swallowing back the bile that tried to come up her throat and trying to convince herself that the light wasn't really **that** bright, it was just the concussion talking. The concussion won the argument, so Wren closed her eyes again as she tried to get her thoughts in order.

They'd been ambushed by three members of Circus Night, one of whom had some kind of Balloon Magic that he had used to trap them and that exploded upon being punctured. They had punctured Wakaba's balloon to knock him out and take him hostage and had been debating doing the same to her when she had tried to teleport out of her balloon to the shadow of the nearest dumpster.

Apparently the pulse of magic that came from jumping through shadows counted as a breach, because the balloon had exploded in mid-teleportation, throwing off her aim and causing her to slam head-first into the alley wall. The blow had knocked her out cold, but she didn't know for how long. Minutes? Hours? More? Wren kept her breathing deep and even as she strained her hearing for any sign of the three attackers. There was a lot of murmuring, chatter, and footsteps just outside her location, but none of them sounded like the balloon mage or his two comrades.

Instead, Wren was able to pick out the familiar voices and complaints of Magnolia citizens, muttering about the scorch marks on the road and buildings —again— and how one would think that this wouldn't happen with only two Fairy Tail members in town. There was no mention of the attack, or anything akin to someone ordering someone else around aside from the occasional concerned parent to their child as they passed by.

So, she was still in the area of the attack, probably still in the same place she'd tried to teleport to and ended up knocking herself out in. Which meant either the Circus Night mages hadn't been able to find her or had lost interest. Probably because they had found two other hostages instead and hadn't bothered looking for her.

 _Pantherlily in a tutu._ She had known that Gray showing up in town was going to trigger a bout of Fairy Tail Luck, but if he'd ended up getting semi-exploded and taken hostage just because she'd offered to let him and his friend stay in the Lighthouse…

Wren forced her eyes to open again and refused to close them when the dim light of the alleyway stabbed at her pupils. Swallowing back her latest bout of nausea, she rolled onto her hands and knees and from there cautiously stood up. She ended up having to brace against the wall —that had dried but recent bloodstains on it, probably from her throbbing head— while she waited for the world to stop its rollercoaster act.

Once the world had mostly stabilized, Wren pushed herself away from the wall and stumbled out of the alley, trying to get her bearings and come up with a plan. She was alone, concussed —though that would wear off soon, she hoped, her healing factor was much faster these days because of magic—, and up against at least three enemy guild members who had hostages. Wakaba, Gray, and Doronbo couldn't afford to wait for the rest of Fairy Tail to come back from vacation —and probably get ambushed like Wren had— **but** they also couldn't afford Wren rushing in recklessly to help. She also had to figure out where they'd been taken before she thought of any methods or plans to free them.

A hand coming to rest gently on her shoulder interrupted Wren's thoughts, "Wren-chan! What happened to you? Are you alright? Do you need a hospital?" Wren looked up, startled, but relaxed a moment later when she recognized Laurel-san, a mother of six who frequently hired Fairy Tail mages to do either housework, shopping, or babysitting for her. The _Raijinshū_ had done several jobs for her in the past, though they were banned from the babysitting missions after an incident with Cana, boredom, and impressionable kids who were curious about the ins and outs of a certain adult-orientated card game.

Wren shifted around to face Laurel-san and tried to smile reassuringly, but this only seemed to distress her further, "That's lot of blood, you definitely need a hospital, I'm taking you there right now!" Wren wiggled out of Laurel-san's grip and shook her head, ignoring how it made the world tilt dangerously. She didn't have time to go to a hospital. She needed to figure out where the others had been taken and how to free them.

Laurel-san followed her persistently, hand outstretched to catch her, "Wren-chan! I know Fairy Tail treat their children differently and that you think you can handle anything yourself, but you're **hurt**! I must insist-!" Her shouting was drawing attention from the other citizens, who began to cluster in concern around Wren.

One older man whom Wren dimly recognized as a night-shift hospital worker murmured, "You look like you were attacked! Did someone try to hurt you last night like they did those poor boys?"

All thoughts of trying to escape were roughly shoved to the side as Wren latched onto that last sentence. Whirling to face the man, she scribbled frantically, _"Boys? Who? Where?"_

He shifted nervously under the intensity of her stare, "Two boys, a nine-year-old and a young teen were admitted to the hospital last night. Someone called in anonymously and said they'd just been attacked on this street and needed immediate medical assistance. They're alright, just have a few nasty burns and bruises- Hey wait!" Wren didn't even bother waving goodbye as she ducked under Laurel-san's reaching hand, slid between the surprised legs of another citizen, and took off running for the hospital. _That has to be Gray and Doronbo! But why didn't they take those two hostage as well? Did they know that they weren't members of Fairy Tail? Does that mean they've been watching us? Who called in their injuries?_

There was no place to get answers save the hospital itself, so Wren gamely pushed aside the woozy feeling caused by her rapid pace and kept running.

It didn't take much work to find the correct room once she arrived at the hospital, though several of the nurses and doctors who saw her put up a huge fuss over her head. Apparently it looked pretty bad, but Wren knew it was because scalps bled so much over even minor cuts and so she tried to refuse treatment. In the end, the nurses won the fight to clean and bandage her head on the condition that they do so in the room in which Gray and Doronbo were staying. Doronbo was the only one of the two currently awake, and they both looked fairly roughed up.

The look on Doronbo's face and the shrill scream of surprise he emitted when he saw her come in would have been hilarious in any other circumstance. As it was, Wren just clapped her hands over her aching ears and sent him a dirty look while a nurse tried to talk Doronbo back down from the ceiling —something about him not aggravating his injuries further—. Once her head injury was cleaned and bandaged, Doronbo coaxed back onto his bed, and the nurses talked into leaving, Wren set about getting answers. Doronbo told her everything, about Pauz being one of the three Circus Night ambushers, about them thinking she had died in the explosion, then finally about Pauz ordered their balloons blown up and them left behind in the street. He looked guilty and subdued after he finished relaying what little he knew that she didn't, "I just don't know why Pauz would do something like that though…"

Wren fidgeted with the bandage across her forehead with a frown. She could understand Doronbo's confusion. She hadn't known Pauz very long at all, but he hadn't seemed the type to willingly ambush and attack people, especially when one of them was Gray. He was just a kid and, as hypocritical it might seem for her to think it, kids didn't usually come up with elaborate stuff like this on their own. If a kid wanted revenge for something, they just went out and punched someone, or yelled at them, or —if you were a mage kid— used their magic on the subject of their aggression.

Hostage taking, an ambush in the dead of night, waiting until almost the entire guild was out of town where they wouldn't be able to help or retaliate until Circus Night had solidified their power play? All of that reeked of an adult's more vindictive and strategic mind. Someone like Ivan, cold and calculating and practiced rather than the raw childish cunning of, say, Bickslow or Cana or Laxus.

No. However Pauz was involved, Wren was willing to bet that he wasn't behind the attack, possibly not even in favor of it. This was an attack from Circus Night itself, which meant that it was more than likely on the order of Circus Night's Master.

A guild master who already had a problem with Fairy Tail and who's guild had recently been thrown out of their hometown and no doubt needed a new base of operations. A base of operations that already got lots of traffic both civilian and magical, that was well known and popular and had a large guild building already in place to save on building costs.

Wren felt her lips curl into a feral expression that barely mimicked a smile as fury build in her blood. So that was probably what they were after. This entire thing was a ploy to gather resources with a little revenge on the side. With most of Fairy Tail gone on vacation —had the unexpected need to reschedule been orchestrated by Circus Night too or had it just been lucky coincidence?— there was no one around to guard against a war party of mages from another guild moving in and taking over. By making hostages of the members who had stayed behind, Fairy Tail's usual response of beating up any threats would be forcibly put on hold, at least for a short time. Enough time to launch another power play or negotiate for, if not a good location, then enough money to start again.

Against any other guild, it would actually be a brilliant strategy.

But Fairy Tail was not any other guild and —either by incompetence or arrogance— Wren was still free.

She looked up from her thoughts to see that Doronbo had discreetly plastered himself against the head of his bed and was watching her with wide eyes. She rolled her eyes at him —why did **everyone** find her so scary?— but ignored his antics for the moment as she wrote, _"Wait here a minute, I'll be right back."_

The hospital was fairly close to the lighthouse side of town —Fairy Tail was one of the biggest sources of their income after all—, so Wren managed to teleport straight out of the room and to the lighthouse. The act might not have been her best idea considering her fading concussion, but she was in a hurry and so ignored the brief dizzy spell it caused. Despite how sore her body was, her magic reserves were surprisingly intact, so she was able to teleport straight back to Doronbo's and Gray's room after retrieving what she needed.

Doronbo jumped a bit at her arrival and looked wary as she held out a magical card to him, "Um…"

Wren pressed the card into his hand, _"This is a Calling Card. You can call people with it if they have a card from a matching set. I need you to call Fairy Tail and tell them what's going on. Tell them that Wren gave you this card."_

Doronbo held the card gingerly, as if afraid it might explode, "Why don't you do that? You're an actual member!"

Wren hissed between her teeth, _"Can't. Anything other than an SOS signal requires a voice. They need to know exactly what is going on here, so you need to tell them."_ It was one of Cana's biggest frustrations that she had yet to find or enchant a card that successfully transmitted written messages that were good for more than a single use. The one-time use writing card Wren did have was far too small to write down a full explanation of the situation and Fairy Tail would need to know what was going on. For all of Fairy Tail's power and Luck, walking in blind when there was a hostage in play would give Circus Night an advantage. One that Wren was determined not to give them.

Doronbo still looked frightened —for a supposed teenage thief he was **such** a coward— and Wren forced her expression to soften, _"It's okay. Just press that rune there to make the call. Tell whoever answers that Wren told you to contact Master Makarov. Insist on talking to Master Makarov. Once you are talking to Master Makarov, tell him that Circus Night is in town and has taken Wakaba hostage. Tell him about the balloon man and answer any questions he has as best you can. It will be fine. Got that?"_

Doronbo was squinting at her writing in the way everyone did when she had accidentally written in Yoda-speak, but after several seconds he nodded nervously, "O-okay. Okay." Wren smiled at him and gave him a quick pat on the arm before she headed for the door. "Wait! Where are you going?"

Wren paused in the doorway and shot Doronbo another smile over her shoulder, this one intentionally scary and predatory as she wrote, _"Hunting."_

She left before Doronbo could ask any other questions. Dodging the nurses and doctors with practiced ease —they weren't nearly as observant as bandits—, Wren left the hospital and took to the rooftops despite her protesting muscles. She wasn't an idiot, she would wait for Fairy Tail to return before doing anything if that was possible, but Circus Night's war party had to have a base of operations somewhere in Magnolia to pull off this kind of attack and Wren was going to find it.

And when she did, with or without the rest of the guild, she was going to teach them a lesson on why **no one** attacked Fairy Tail and got away with it.

.

.

Magnolia was a big town, and Wren was just one —semi-injured— almost-seven-year-old. So it wasn't until early evening that she finally narrowed down the location of Circus Night's newest hideaway. When she did finally locate the rundown, below-ground bar they had taken over and got a good look inside, she started cursing mentally. It wasn't just a war party they had sent into Magnolia like she'd assumed. The entire blasted guild of Circus Night was crammed in there. Most of them were dozing off or drinking whatever had been stocked in the bar, but there were still somewhere around twenty or thirty mages in there. Far too many for Wren to take on by herself, especially not when she had no idea what kinds of magic they used.

She scanned the bar through a grungy gutter-level window, trying to spot Wakaba. It took several minutes of scanning before one of the Circus Night members shifted position and she spotted her fellow Fairy, tied up and looking worse for the wear against the wall farthest from the door. Wren grit her teeth and stamped down on the urge to rush in, but it was surprisingly hard to squash the impulse. Wakaba looked like he needed medical attention and the thought of leaving him there until the rest of Fairy Tail got their act together and made the day-long train-ride back was physically painful.

She sat back on her heels and debated with herself. She couldn't possibly fight that many mages on her own, not when one of them was no doubt the guild Master himself. But the thought of leaving Wakaba there for at least another day or more rankled too much to easily accept. So what could she do?

She peeked inside the window again and observed. Wakaba was slumped in —ironically— one of the most well-lit sections of the bar. If she tried to teleport in and then teleport him back out, she was almost guaranteed to be noticed —living black spots appearing out of nowhere were hardly subtle— and she was not in the mood to find out if Balloon Man's magic traps could catch her while in her shadow form. Considering that the balloon had registered her shadow teleportation as a breach, she didn't feel too good about her chances of remaining uncaught if anyone noticed a shadow spontaneously come to life and move across the floor.

She could try to teleport directly into Wakaba's shadow, but it was pressed up between the wall and his back, which was not an angle or type of shadow she had ever tried to teleport into before. In all honesty she had yet to figure out if a shadow mage could actually go 2-D like a genuine shadow when that shadow was pressed between two objects. She had never had the particular urge to try until now, because while her shadow form apparently looked 2-D to everyone else, it certainly didn't feel that way to Wren. She **really** didn't want to find out the hard way whether a shadow mage could suffer from squashed organs from trying to fit into too small of a shadow or something. Especially not while trying to infiltrate the hideout of a hostile guild.

A Circus Night member shuffled back toward the bar with a low grumble and Wren eyed him as he moved, an idea slowly coming to her. A shadow moving on its own was sure to be spotted, but a shadow that was moving and overlapping with other shadows because its owner was moving? That was just nature at work.

If she could teleport directly into the shadow of a Circus Night member, then she could just slip from shadow to shadow when they rubbed against each other without anyone noticing. Once she got into a shadow close enough to Wakaba, or when a shadow she was in passed **over** Wakaba, she could grab him, teleport out as far away as she could, and smuggle him out to Porlyusica-san's place until backup arrived.

Assuming of course, Fairy Tail Luck decided to play nice for once and didn't trigger one of the literal thousands of ways she could already see that plan going wrong. What if one of the mages somehow had a keen enough magical sense to detect her entering their shadow? What if she ended up in the wrong shadow that nobody else crossed over with and got stuck? What if someone spotted her transferring from shadow to shadow? What if there was some kind of trap specifically for her magic? Okay, the last one was unlikely even for Fairy Tail Luck, but still. What if, what if, what if?

Wren sat back on her heels and had a long, hard argument with herself. It was her —increasingly faulty— sense of logic and sanity versus her desire to help Wakaba and her confidence that she could pull something like that off and survive.

Logic and sanity pointed out her status as an almost-seven-year-old and touted the values of backup from a very large, very protective guild. Reckless confidence pointed out that it would take at least a day, possibly a day and a half or even **two** before Fairy Tail got back to Magnolia. Circus Night could do anything in that timeframe. Launch another assault, change Wakaba's location, beat up Wakaba even more… Right now, they would be confident and relaxed after their victory, self-assured that nothing could touch them yet. Wren could capitalize on that weakness.

Logic and sanity pointed out that if something went wrong —which it would—, Wren would become a hostage too and that would just make things worse for Fairy Tail. Circus Night wouldn't actually **kill** Wakaba, not until Fairy Tail gave them what they wanted, so to a certain extent, his safety was guaranteed. Her jumping in recklessly wouldn't be necessary.

Logic and sanity were actually winning for once when Wren heard the clatter of two pairs of feet pelting her way and she hurriedly hid.

A few seconds later a tiny paper dog —why was she not even surprised anymore— darted by with —who else?— Gray and Doronbo following on its little paper heels. The paper dog stopped in front of the door to the bar and circled several times, like a real dog that had just finished tracking a scent. Gray and Doronbo —panting noisily like twin elephants— came to a stop in front of the door, "So he's here?" Wren winced at Gray's loud tone, had the boy no concept of stealth? No, wait, this was a child version of Gray, or course he didn't.

Doronbo looked, somehow, even more winded than Gray did as he rubbed sweat off his chin, "It must be."

Gray scowled at the door, "There were two guys with Pauz, so if he's in there, they might be too…"

Doronbo shuffled, "I really, really think we should wait for Fairy Tail-"

Gray shot him a dark look and bristled, "I'm not waiting for someone else to get answers! I'm going to go in there and see what's what!" He took a half-step toward the door and Wren prepared to intervene when Doronbo caught Gray's sleeve and pointed at the window Wren had just been looking through, "W-why don't we look through that window instead? A-at least find out what it looks like in there first?"

Gray eyed the window, then nodded and the two boys —with no concept for keeping watch or subtly— lay flat on their stomachs and pressed their noses against the glass to look inside. Wren took a deep breath and released it slowly as she stood up and padded over to them. She had a distinct feeling that logic and sanity had just lost the argument by default of Gray's arrival.

The two boys didn't notice her standing over them, too busy staring inside the window and stage-whispering. Doronbo released a whimper, "L-look at all those people…" He seemed to tuck in on himself despite his prone position, "Maybe we were wrong after all, this can't be where Pauz went-"

"There! It's the old man!" Wren winced at the shout —but nobody inside reacted, were the people inside deaf or were the walls just so thick that nobody heard him?—. Gray immediately scrambled to his feet, turned as if to run for the door, caught sight of Wren, and fell over with a startled —loud— yelp.

Her opinion of Gray's intelligence and of Circus Night's collective hearing fell by the second as she raised an eyebrow at him, _"Where are you going?"_

Gray jabbed a finger at the window, "In there! The old man is-"

Wren used a shadow to cover his mouth and she gave a low hiss as she wrote, _"Be quiet, idiot! Or do you want all thirty of those mages to come outside and kill_ _us?"_

Doronbo squeaked at the thought and Gray grudgingly lowered his voice to a stage-whisper as he swatted her shadow aside, "The old man is in there, we need to get him out! He's one of your comrades isn't he? Why aren't you doing something?"

 _"_ _Because there are around thirty of them,_ ** _including_** _their guild Master and I. Am. Six. You are_ ** _nine_** _. If we try an open fight, we will die or worse."_ She saw Gray's stubborn look, the look of any Fairy who knew something was stupid but was going to do it anyway and she raised her eyes pleadingly to the sky. _Someone save me from the reckless idiots before they assimilate me. Please._ She lowered her gaze, _"I was trying to make a plan before you showed up. But they will notice if I go in there and I can't t- t-"_ she didn't know how to spell teleport in Japanese, _"reach Wakaba's shadow from this angle. I would need to go up and touch him to get him out and I'm not fast enough to get in there without them noticing first."_

She half-expected Gray to either declare that they would fight anyway or that he would serve as a distraction —which were both bad plans but the second might be salvageable— when instead Gray actually stopped to think. A few seconds —and the removal of his coat— later, his eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. He turned to Doronbo excitedly, "That's it! Doronbo, you still have that medicine, don't you? You know, the stuff you used when you were stealing things?"

Doronbo looked like he really didn't like where this was going even as he pulled out a small bottle of pills, "Well, I do, but…"

Gray snatched the bottle from Doronbo's hand, "I can move, like, thirty times my normal speed if I take one of these right? Then I can just take this, run in, grab Wakaba and get out!"

Doronbo was already shaking his head, "The effects only last thirty seconds. I don't think you could get back with someone so much bigger than you before the time ran out."

Wren stepped in, her shadows plucking the bottle from Gray's hands before he could take the unknown medicine anyway. Ignoring Gray's protest, she examined the bottle and debated with herself. Was she really going to do something this stupid? Considering it was either that or let the kid who did not have teleportation powers —because there was no way Gray was going to wait another day or so for action— do it then yes. Yes she was. She raised her eyes to the two boys, _"But I could. I can-"_ still didn't know the word for teleport, so what would work in its place? _"Jump. I can jump from shadow to shadow, you've seen me do it. I'll take this, run in, grab Wakaba, and jump to safety. Then we wait for Fairy Tail to come back and kick their butts."_

Gray hesitated, "I wanna talk to Pauz, I need…"

His voice trailed off and Wren patted his arm sympathetically, _"You will. But Wakaba first. You two…"_ how to convince them to stay out of the way without insulting their budding man-prides? Oh, _"You two stay here by the window and keep watch, if something goes wrong, come in and back me up, okay?"_

Doronbo blanched at the thought of fighting but Gray nodded determinedly, "…Okay. We'll do it your way, but only 'cause Wakaba's your comrade."

Wren gave Gray a tight smile, turned to Doronbo, and held up the bottle, _"What do I do with these?"_

One quick stammered explanation of the pills and their function later, Wren took a deep breath, selected one pill, and teleported to the shadow beneath a bar table. Only once she was in the shadow did Wren pop the pill in her mouth and swallow —and pray that she wouldn't have an allergic reaction to the thing—. She only had thirty seconds, so it was best to get as close as possible to her goal before taking it.

The effect of the pill was instant and noticeable. Everything froze. All of the Circus Night members became statues in mid-motion, the air stilled, it was like time had stopped. Wren didn't have any time to waste marveling —or freaking out— over it, she dropped out of the shadows and sprinted across the room to Wakaba's side, weaving between legs, tables, and chairs while her heart pounded down the seconds she had left before the pill wore off.

She grabbed Wakaba's shoulders tight through his battered clothes and reached for the nearest safe shadow. She found one in the house of a regular Fairy Tail costumer, a cranky old man named Bartholomew who lived several streets down from her current location, on the floor above his ancient and semi-rundown antique store.

Bartholomew-san had always been too stubborn to move, even though his current area didn't get much traffic because of its increasingly unsavory reputation. He didn't take insolence or sass from anyone and was very pushy, but he had proven to have a good heart under his prickly exterior the few times the _Raijinshū_ had done jobs for him. It was the nearest, safest choice and Wren had no time to waste dithering, so she wrapped her mental fingers tight around the shadow of Bartholomew's dining table and pulled.

Teleporting while under the effects of the pill was weird, Wren somehow ended up pulling either too hard or for too long, overshooting her point of exit and tumbling out of the dining table shadow with Wakaba as dead weight. They both crashed into one of the chairs with enough noise to attract Bartholomew-san's attention and he came stomping in with a speed and volume that let Wren know that the pill had just worn off.

His curses stopped abruptly as he took in the sight of Wakaba, beaten and tied up and unconscious and Wren, panting on the floor, also beaten up, and sporting a large head-bandage. He hurried over and crouched next to Wakaba with creaking knees, "I'll call the police station-"

Wren was already shaking her head and writing out clumsily, _"No. Mages. Police will just get hurt. Hide Wakaba. Don't let anyone see him until Fairy Tail get's back. Don't let anyone but Fairy Tail know where he is. Please, Bartholomew-san."_

Bartholomew-san's lips thinned into a line as he pulled out his pocket knife and set to work on the rope imprisoning Wakaba, "Alright, missy. But you be careful, don't go getting yourself killed 'cause you didn't wait for your family." Wren gave a breathless nod before she wrapped her mental fingers around the shadow outside the bar and teleported back to tell the boys that she'd been successful and to get out of there.

But only one of the boys was there, panicking as he stared at the door that had **not** been flung wide open when Wren left. _Of all the-!_ She didn't bother waiting for Doronbo to spot her and explain, she could hear the sounds from inside the bar well enough to realize that, for whatever reason, Gray had gone barging in and ruined the entire point of a stealth operation.

None of the Circus Night members noticed her as she darted inside, all of their attention was focused on the center of the room. Wren used her shadows to pull herself up to the rafters for a better view —and attack angle— and stilled as she spotted what everyone else was looking at. Gray stood in the center of the unfriendly circle, righteous fury burning in his eyes as he stood over the crumpled form of another boy and screamed, "How could you do this to Pauz? Aren't you his friends? His **guild**?"

 _Oh._ The boy was Pauz. Somehow, in her focus to find a way to Wakaba and the crowd blocking just the right of the window, she had somehow missed his small, beaten form huddled on the floor near the center of the room. He looked like someone had just hit him repeatedly with a bat, turned him over to a pack of angry dogs, and then set him on fire for good measure.

Her fury came back, hot and thick as the Balloon Man laughed at Gray, "He wouldn't be like that if it wasn't for you~, boy!"

Gray stiffened, his fist in his palm in a familiar ice-make stance, "What do you mean?"

Balloon Man waved his hands with a sickening amount of glee, "After we left you two in tatters, we heard him trying to call the hospital behind our backs~. We don't need any weaklings like that! Isn't that right, Master~?"

Wren's attention zeroed in on the figure — **how** had she not noticed him before— that ambled forward. Everyone else in the room made way for him, and an oily sort of magical aura swelled in the room for a moment before settling. The man was … breathtakingly ugly.

With bushy black hair and a face painted with bone-white makeup and stylized cheshire-smile stitches on either side of red-coated lips, he already looked like a psychotic failure of a clown. And that was **before** Wren fully registered his … could she call it an outfit when it was an honest-to-Pantherlily egg the size of a table with bright red spots on it? The only parts of the outfit that were actually clothes were the elbow-length black gloves and the polkadot stockings that ended in black duck-bill-shaped shoes.

A low laugh echoed through the room before the Master of Circus Night smiled benignly at Gray and replied, "Why yes, indeed… You see, boys who act without permission in **my** guild get punished."

Her breath froze, another voice whispering in her mind, _"You do not understand that to properly prepare a child for the world, a parent must sometimes_ _discipline them rather … harshly."_

Her teeth bared and she felt her fingers dig painfully into the wood of the rafters. She watched through narrowed eyes as Pauz finally stirred, whimpering softly as he sat up and caught sight of Gray, "Gray-kun? Why … why are you here?"

Gray, wisely, kept his eyes on the Circus Night Master, "I'm here to find you, why else? What are **you** doing here with guys like these?"

Pauz's breath hitched and for a moment, she could have sworn his eyes flickered up to lock with hers before falling to the floor, "I'm sorry. I came to Magnolia … to destroy Fairy Tail…"

Gray risked a glance at Pauz, "You … to destroy Fairy Tail?"

Circus Night's Master laughed. The sound grated on Wren's ears and made her itch to hit him for it even as she tried to figure out how to get Gray and Pauz out of there without being mobbed or caught by Balloon Man, "We've been at odds with Fairy Tail for a long time you see. They get in the way of every little thing we do… so we're going to destroy them once and for all."

Wren began carefully coaxing the shadows amid the feet of the crowd, thickening them with her magic in preparation to take as many guild members down as possible in one go when the fight started. Because with Gray there, it **was** going to become a fight and Wren was now too angry to try to stop him —guild Master or no guild Master, she was going to find a way to break the egg-wearing man's nose—.

Gray grit his teeth, "Why would you team up with guys like these, Pauz?"

Pauz whimpered again as he shifted into a standing position, "I … I lost my parents when I was young," Wren stiffened, _oh no,_ "it was this guild that picked me up when I was about to die on the streets." A spilled bowl of ramen danced before Wren's eyes, a voice pleading to let him help her echoing in her ears as she briefly closed her eyes in despair.

Pauz continued talking, unaware of the deja vu he was provoking inside her, "It's thanks to this guild that I'm still alive. So … that means-" his voice choked a bit as he straightened as much as his battered body would allow it, "That means my Master's orders are absolute!"

Wren bowed her head, because she knew, she **knew** what it was like to be picked up off the streets and offered shelter, a purpose, a home. She **knew** how it felt to go from half-starved to always fed and clothed and sheltered by something bigger than herself. If she had really been a child, if Master Makarov had been anyone other than himself, if he had added even a tiny bit of manipulation, a hint of "you get all of this only if you obey me"…

The Master of Circus Night sounded disgustingly pleased as he chuckled, "That's right. So, let me give you another order, Pauz." Wren opened her eyes in time to see his cruel smile as he pointed at Gray, "Kill this little brat."

Everyone stilled, even the soft jeering of the Circus Night members fell silent in the wake of that order. Wren's muscles went tight and she made to spring down —because this had just officially gone too far, she wasn't going to let a child be forced to choose between a friend and all he'd ever known— when a hand silently clamped down on her shoulder and held her back. Wren twisted around in a mix of fear and fury to see who had snuck up on her and then froze in surprise at the solemn edge in Marco's half-lidded eyes as he watched the scene below them. _Marco?_ Wren looked down and around, only now seeing the silent crowd watching the drama unfold from the narrow second floor walkways.

 _How…?_ A gentle tap on her other side had Wren look over sharply at Bickslow, whose eyes glowed faintly from behind his visor as he alternated from watching the silent standoff below and Wren. Before Wren could figure out how to react to this —because how had they gotten here? Fairy Tail wasn't **quiet** , not like this, not quiet enough that **Newgate-san** was crouched in the too-small doorway unnoticed by an entire enemy guild— Bickslow signed to her, _"What's going on?"_

Wren took a deep breath and quickly flashed a few shorthand signs to explain what was going on between Gray and Pauz and how Gray was a potential Fairy Tail member. She pointed down at the standoff and bared her teeth silently, _"I need to get down there!"_

Marco noticed her gestures and seemed to understand despite his inexperience with her hand-signs. His grip on her shoulder tightened and he leaned over to breathe in her ear, "No, yoi. This is between them. We can't step in yet."

Wren scowled, but any protest was cut off by the voice of Circus Night's Master, "Well, Pauz? I gave you an order. 'Kill the brat'. Now do it!"

Pauz was shaking and it did not seem to be because of his injuries anymore. She could see the emotions and thoughts flashing behind his eyes —indecision, emotional agony, choice— before his head bowed and tears slid down his cheeks. When he spoke, even though it was barely above a whisper, it might as well have been as loud as a dragon's roar, "I … I can't … because Gray-kun … is the first friend I've ever had."

"Pauz…" Gray breathed, he looked as if he didn't know how to take that information.

Circus Night's Master just sneered, "What's that now? So you were lying just a moment ago about my orders being absolute?" He scoffed, "And I went through all that trouble to raise you. But perhaps its time… yes. I suppose I'll just have to finish you both." His voice was flippant, like a man debating whether or not to throw out his old tv at long last and Wren hissed through clenched teeth, wishing that Marco would **let go of her** so she could hit someone.

Pauz looked devastated and beside Wren, Bickslow growled deep in his throat, his body shaking with tension. Wren didn't understand why they were waiting. Fairy Tail had never been patient in ambushing and trashing an enemy before, so why-?

Then Gray threw his shirt off and away and put himself between Pauz and Circus Night's Master with a snarl. Faint wisps of blue magic aura lashed around him as he screamed, "I'll never-! This is no guild! **I'll never call it a guild**! You're all just **spineless scum**!"

The Master of Circus Night's face twisted into an expression of fury and he lunged for the boys, "Die y-"

The pressure of Master Makarov's magic —of the entire guild's magic— flooded the building to the overflowing, suffocating and furious and dangerous. Predators whose territory had been invaded and whose pack had been threatened. Despite the sheer weight of angry magic pressing down on the Circus Night guild, freezing even their Master in place with surprise, Master Makarov's voice was deceptively quiet and calm, "I think that's quite enough."

All eyes twisted up and around to stare at Fairy Tail, shocked and nervous murmurs flooding the ground floor as the air shimmered faintly in front of Fairy Tail's members and Wren realized that someone —probably Master Makarov— had been holding a very mild illusion spell over the guild to keep them from being noticed until now. Master Makarov took a deep breath and when he spoke next, it was with the terrible power of a giant, **"You think you can put your hands on my family and get away with it? You think you can try to take my children hostage and WIN AGAINST US, KAFUCHI?"**

Circus Night's Master —Kafuchi?— looked rattled, "You-! How did you figure out where we-?"

Laxus —standing next to his grandfather on top of the railing— snorted and his eyes held a dangerous golden glow as he growled, "Magnolia is **our** town. We know **everything** that happens here."

Master Makarov smiled grimly at his grandson's words, "Naturally. And now, my children," he flung his arms out and roared, **"It's time for you to run wild!"**

In an instant, Fairy Tail had flooded down into the main room of the bar, magic flaring and war cries deafening the air as they clashed with the off-guard and panicking members of Circus Night. Marco hurtled down from the ceiling with a wild, inhuman trill. His arms morphed into brilliant wings of fire that suspended him just above the fight while flaming talons raked at unsuspecting enemies. Laxus was already in the thick of it, thunder shaking the building as his lightning sent grown men flying. Bickslow and his tikis paused on the rafters just long enough to hiss, "We'll be talking about this later, Wren. Just **stay here** and use your shadows from long range." Before he too flung himself into the fray with a whoop and green blasts of his tikis.

Wren rolled her eyes —the _Raijinshū_ were never going to let her live this down— but obediently stayed on the rafters above the fight, using her shadows to trip and fling and cut without anyone knowing to look up in order to find their source. Circus Night fought with the desperation of the mean and the cornered, Fairy Tail numbered double —maybe even triple with Newgate and his children inexplicably there— what Circus Night did and fought with the fury of a guild wronged and a family threatened. In the end, it wasn't even a contest.

There was a flash of cold ice and a wild yell from Gray that somehow rose above the cacophony of the fight, "I got their Master!" The shout attracted Wren's attention and as such she was just in time to see when everything went wrong.

Kafuchi gave Gray's incoming form a contemptuous look as he hissed, "Snake Snake Charms," and the egg he was wearing shattered in multiple places as several long, inky, snake-like … things, each about as thick as a full-grown person exploded out. One of them swatted Gray aside like a stuffed toy while the others launched out … and began **devouring** the defeated, retreating members of Circus Night. Wren stared, sickened and disbelieving as the members of Kafuchi's own guild disappeared —screaming and begging the entire time— down the throats of the magic ink snakes.

Kafuchi just laughed, "You **really** think I'm that easy to take down?" He threw a contemptuous glance at the begging members of his own guild as the ink snakes swallowed them whole, "I don't have any need for sniveling cowards."

Wren saw his gaze settle on something near the center of the room and felt time slow down almost as if she'd taken another one of Doronbo's pills. An ink snake lashed out, its maw wide and hungry as it lunged for its newest target and Wren saw, in her mind's eye, a Gray who went on missions alone, a Gray who never seemed to hang out with anyone other than Team Natsu after Erza formed it.

A Gray who never once mentioned anyone named Pauz.

 ** _NO!_**

The door in her mind lurched angrily against her control even as she lunged for Pauz's shadow. Cold and blackness exploded centimeters to one side of the ink snake, dragging it off course for the few milliseconds her black hole was open as she bodily tackled Pauz into his own shadow. Momentum rolled the two of them several feet and as soon as they'd stopped, Wren flattened her small body on top of his. She hugged him tight to the monochrome floor, flinching as she felt the ink snake —which had somehow survived even brief contact with her black hole— slam into the ground where Pauz had just been.

Pauz was gasping underneath her, his limbs shaking with pain and shock even as Gray screamed a shrill note of disbelief and grief, " **Pauz**!"

Wren slowly rolled off of Pauz and sat up, making sure to keep a firm hold on him so that they would stay in the shadows. Pauz sat up sluggishly, still gasping and eyes wide with disbelief as Gray lunged for Kafuchi. Gray's fist sailed for Kafuchi's face only to be blocked by a frost-covered ink snake —blasted thing had already regenerated it's lost matter, her momentary black hole had only slowed it down for a second—.

Kafuchi didn't look well. He looked … insane. He was giving off a magic aura now, but it was … wrong, unpredictable. Wren rarely saw any colors when in shadow form, but for a moment she thought she saw a sickly pulsing green-black color pump from the snakes into their master as he laughed softly. Gray tried to push past the ink snake, "Monster! You spit Pauz back up, **right now**!" Wren blinked and Pauz made a soft noise. _Oh. Gray thinks that ink snake swallowed Pauz whole…_ She thought about revealing that Pauz was fine, but then reconsidered a moment later as the last Circus Night member disappeared down the throat of an ink snake. For whatever reason, those things were only targeting Kafuchi's guild members and Wren really didn't want to risk attracting the insane man's attention back to Pauz, even to ease Gray's grief. She'd tell him later, once this was over.

Kafuchi's ink snake curled around Gray like a boa, "I don't have time for weaklings." The snake flung Gray into the wall with a loud crack of stone, "Now stay out of my way."

Wren grabbed Pauz's wrist and dragged him back away from the center of the room —who knew if those snakes could sense shadow-magic— as the rest of Fairy Tail finished up their own fights and wordlessly backed away too. Only once she had dragged Pauz into the protective circle of the _Raijinshū_ did she allow them to slip out of the shadow world. Pauz was shaking in her grip, heedless to the startled looks of the _Raijinshū_ as everyone watched Gray launch himself at Kafuchi again and again only to be flung aside or bashed into walls, "W-why is he doing this? Why won't you help him?"

Laxus eyed Pauz sidelong and murmured low, "You're his friend aren't you? Kafuchi tried to eat you, so he's going to kick his butt. It's not our place to step into a fight like this. This is the kid's fight on your behalf. We won't let him die or anything, but … this is his fight for now."

Pauz looked stunned, off-balance, and despite his earlier heartfelt declaration, Wren got the impression that Pauz hadn't understood until now what being Gray's friend really entailed. What being anyone's friend entailed, really. Wren tapped Pauz's wrist to get his attention and gave a rapid-fire flurry of signs. Laxus's gaze sharpened knowingly even as he translated softly for her, "Wren says that people like Gray can be hard to befriend and slow to trust. But once you have it, they will destroy mountains for you. There is only one condition to that loyalty. Only one thing Gray will ever ask of you in return for his friendship."

They were interrupted when Gray finally broke past the guard of the ink snakes only to be grabbed by Kafuchi himself and held in the air by his hair. Kafuchi snarled and punched Gray hard enough that the noise echoed painfully across the silent room. Instead of freezing, Gray reacted in an instant and punched back, using his close, captive proximity to finally, finally, slam his fist hard into Kafuchi's face.

The clown Master's head snapped violently to one side and Wren thought she saw something white and bloody fly from his mouth. Kafuchi's face twisted and he flung Gray to the far wall with a scream, "You **stupid child**!" Gray hit the wall hard enough to dent it before Kafuchi's ink snake caught him and slammed him brutally into the floor. For a long moment everything went still and Wren seethed quietly, because Laxus had an iron grip on her arm, keeping her from going in and punching the man's face herself on Gray's behalf and no one else was **doing anything**. Stupid mages and their stupid magic debt/honor/pride traditions.

Kafuchi visibly dismissed Gray's still form and his eyes slid up to Master Makarov instead. Kafuchi smiled sickeningly, revealing that he was missing a tooth in the process, "Now then, it looks like our fight for supremacy was interrupted-"

Master Makarov cut him off dryly, "I believe it would be best if you do not turn your back on an opponent in the middle of a fight." Kafuchi froze, then whirled in time to see what Fairy Tail —all watching from the rafters and the second story walkway— had already spotted.

Gray on his feet, bloody and beaten and proud, his aura flaring around him and a light in his one open eye that any Fairy knew by heart, "Pauz is my **friend**. So **give him back, you piece of slime or I'll-**!" The light suddenly flickered out of his eye and Gray slumped forward, his child body too small to obey the strength of his spirit just yet. Mest teleported forward without prompting, gently catching Gray before he could hit the floor while Master Makarov jumped down protectively between Mest and Kafuchi.

Master Makarov gestured imperiously to the watching guild members, "Leave now. Mest, you and the _Raijinshū_ will take those two boys to Porlyusica for treatment. Kafuchi…" His golden aura formed and swept through the ruined building like a harsh wind, giving his eyes a bright yellow glow as his body began to grow in size, **"This is the end of the road for you."**

Fairy Tail filed out hurriedly, knowing better than to get in the way of their Master on the warpath. The _Raijinshū_ —with a shaky Doronbo trailing behind like a lost puppy— obediently carted a dazed Pauz and an unconscious Gray to Porlyusica, who threw a fit over them both —and Wren—. After Pauz had been bandaged, Wren re-bandaged, and Gray placed on the bed for more extensive treatment, the _Raijinshū_ , Pauz, and Doronbo were banished from her treehouse with orders to not wage any more wars for the next few days.

The _Raijinshū_ wordlessly allowed Pauz and Doronbo to stay just on the outskirts of Porlyusica's property, fussing over Wren —much to her exasperation— while Mest teleported to Magnolia and back to bring them food and news of Kafuchi's absolute beat-down via angry Makarov fist —which finally soothed Wren's seething need to punch the man herself, Makarov punched harder than she ever could—.

Pauz tentatively interrupted the fussing after the news of Kafuchi's defeat and how Master Makarov had forced the ink snakes to vomit out the devoured guild members —who were shockingly still alive, if hospitalized—, "Wren-san?"

Everyone looked at him and Wren moved to sit next to the boy who looked so very lost, so very like Bickslow when he couldn't believe that Fairy Tail would take them in and help them, love them. He glanced at her shyly, "What is the one condition?"

Wren blinked at him and Pauz elaborated quietly, "You said there was one condition to Gray-kun's friendship, to … to his loyalty. What is it?"

Wren's expression softened but she was surprised when it was Bickslow who answered instead of waiting to translate her words, "The same thing that any member of Fairy Tail asks of their comrades. That you stay by their side."

Pauz stared at Bickslow in confusion, "Stay … after all the trouble I've caused him? After I- after I hurt him? Attacked all of you, the guild he wants to join? Why would he want that? Why would he…? Wouldn't he want me to leave after all this? Shouldn't I leave?"

Freed opened his mouth, but Laxus held up a hand to silence him, "Wren?" There was a knowing gleam in his eyes and Wren did her best not to be nervous as she realized that Laxus had figured out that Wren knew about Gray. As in, knew about him in a way that went beyond meeting him a day ago.

Still, Wren carefully pulled her thoughts together and organized them in a way that would not sound creepy or all-knowing, _"Gray … acts like someone who has lost a lot, Pauz-kun. He acts like someone who has been alone for a long time. When someone like that finally finds a friend, then, it doesn't matter how much they have to go through, or what demons they have to fight, they will do anything to keep that friend safe."_

Wren fixed Pauz with a serious look, _"What your old Master made you do was not your fault, Pauz. Not any of it. And when it really counted, you chose to stand by Gray and disobey the man who thought he could own you. I think that … for Gray, that was more than enough reason to fight as he did. It was worth it to him, risking his life for yours, because … because after you've lost enough, been alone long enough, you will do anything not to lose your precious people again. You want to keep them close and never let go, because if you do,"_ her mother's laugh and her fingers on a violin, a careless goodbye, never knowing it would be her last, unaware of the man with the knife who would steal Wren's voice and change her life forever, _"if you do, you're afraid that they will fade away."_

She gave Pauz a sad smile, _"Everyone in Fairy Tail is like that to some extent, and we all understand why you obeyed Kafuchi for as long as you did. We won't blame you, and neither will Gray. We will even understand if you don't want to stay, if you want to leave and be free. But Pauz…"_

She had no idea how badly she might have messed up canon by saving Pauz, or how badly she might be messing it up now. But seeing Gray fight so hard for this one boy … it was enough for her to keep going, _"Whether you choose to stay or not, I think … you should at least talk to Gray first, tell him where you're going, maybe write letters to each other if you go your separate ways. That way, even if you are far away, you will still have each other. In some way, you will still be by each other's side."_

She glanced at him, saw the tears trickling slowly down his face, and wrapped him in a gentle hug, a silent assurance that it would be okay. Doronbo shuffled over and, after an awkward moment of indecision, sat down on Pauz's other side and hugged him too. Wren smiled at Doronbo over Pauz's head and signed with one hand. Laxus softly translated as the _Raijinshū_ clustered loosely around in a show of quiet support, "Wren says that the same thing applies to you Doronbo-kun. You'd be welcome in Fairy Tail," Laxus's lips twitched in amusement as Wren added, "even if you are a coward."

Doronbo blushed and muttered excuses —apparently Doronbo had very little magic beyond the pills he carried in his giant onesie— but after his revelation was just met with easy shrugs and no bias from the _Raijinshū_ , his tension eased into a sort of tentative, awed silence.

Wren rocked the silently crying Pauz back and forth, smiling despite herself as she did so.

She could be wrong, but she had the distinct impression that there would be not one, but three more members joining Fairy Tail when Gray woke up.

.

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 **For anyone wondering: Kafuchi, Circus Night, and Kafuchi's appearance are not mine. They are the villains of the final arc of the Ice Trail spin-off manga, which I recommend to anyone who has not read it yet. But seriously, I did not make up Kafuchi's appearance, I literally spent ten minutes squinting at his picture in my copy of the manga trying to figure out how to describe an outfit that looks to me like the love child between the Joker and a giant psychotic chicken. Just ... why would anyone wear...? Nevermind, moving on, have a great day and I'll see you guys next time!**


	37. Chapter 36: Welcome to the Family

**Author's Note: Finally found time to edit and post this! I've been in a bit of a tizzy with a Real Life event that needed prior preparations, all my other stories, and the NEW stories that I now have to write because that's what a friend of mine earnest requested for his birthday (as if my writing schedule isn't messed up enough as it is, oh well). But anyway, here's the newest chapter! I'm gonna be putting the Review Responses at the bottom to save space up here and let everybody get on to the next chapter without having to scroll a bunch (thank you for so many lovely reviews!). I know it took a while to post this, but thank you all for your patience! I hope you enjoy! Oh, and by the way, if anyone wants to see the lovely fanart this story has accumulated, please remember to check my profile page for the links and descriptions! Just remember to remove the spaces in the links for them to work.**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

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 **Chapter Thirty-Six: Ice Trail - Welcome to the Family**

 **(Ten months, three weeks, five days since joining the Guild)**

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Gray came awake abruptly, but —to his dim surprise— it was not from nightmares. He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, trying to remember what he was doing last and how he had ended up … wherever he was. Ul would probably have lectured him for not being able to remember where he was right away. But he ran into trouble and got knocked out or exhausted to the point of passing out so often that at this point, realizing that the ceiling was unfamiliar had a strange sensation of familiarity in and of itself. When he woke up with a ceiling over his head at all anyway.

At least he could tell right off the bat that it wasn't a hospital, a dungeon cell, or the cave of some man-eating monster, so that was most of his more pressing post-unconsciousness dilemmas taken care of. Now, if he was just lucky enough to **not** be in the house of a ghost or a sicko who had a thing for kids —or human sacrifices, now hadn't **that** been a fun afternoon—. It was always a pain to have to wake up and deal with that kind of thing right off.

 _Hold up…_ What had woken him up anyway?

There was muffled thud and a grunt, followed by a loud whoop that was quickly hushed by other, also muffled voices. Gray blinked as he realized that he must have been woken up by whoever was outside of … wherever he was. Knowing that staring at the ceiling wasn't going to give him any answers, and still fumbling through the ache in his head for memories of what had happened, Gray began to slowly sit up. His slow, methodical efforts to sit up were halted by a tug on his right shoulder, which led to the sudden realization that his right arm was pinned by something heavy and had been pinned for long enough that he'd lost feeling in his lower arm altogether.

He looked down in alarm —which was it this time, manacles, rope, a million and one creepy house cats?— and stopped short at the sight of spiky blond hair poking up from over top of the arms wrapped tight around his numb limb. Black-clad shoulders rose and fell slightly with each breath, deep and even with sleep, and Gray had a second to wonder, _who is this kid and why is he sleeping on my arm?_ When his memories decided to **finally** check back in.

 _Pauz-gone-Pauz-found-dark-guild-rage-hurt-_ ** _snake-Pauz-no-no-NO-_**

His heart slammed into his throat and he jerked violently up into a sitting position —ignoring the protesting stabs of pain his body sent him with ease of practice— as his free hand roughly grabbed the blond hair and forced the person's head up to get a good look at the face he was desperate —but not daring to hope— to see.

A second later his hand had been violently slapped away and the boy who'd been sleeping on Gray's arm had fallen out of his chair with a startled and pained shout, eyes wide and fingers scrambling for an unmistakable large tome on the floor. Big grey eyes blinked up at Gray floor, slightly unfocused without their glasses, and Gray felt all his breath leave him, "…Pauz?"

The apparition in front of him —because it had to be, he'd seen Pauz get **eaten** , he couldn't be here, he **couldn't** — blinked three times, then its gaze lit with a joyous comprehension that physically hurt Gray deep in his chest, "Gray! You're awake!" The apparition scrambled to its feet, snatching black-rimmed glasses off of the nearby desk and shouting in the direction of the half-open door, "Doronbo-kun, everyone! Gray-kun's awake!"

There was thundering of many footsteps and Doronbo hared in, dressed in something other than his onesie for once, followed by Wren and a pack of kids and teens Gray didn't recognize. Doronbo skidded to a stop by the bed so fast he almost pitched himself overtop of it, Wren hot on his heels, while the strangers waited in the doorway and stared. Doronbo was talking, Gray could see the thief's lips moving rapidly out of the corner of his eye. But Gray's mouth felt dry and his chest constricted and all he could bring himself to look at was the apparition who had managed to call Doronbo and Wren into the room and so maybe —just maybe— wasn't an apparition at all? He reached out again, his hand shaking uncontrollably as he croaked, "P-Pauz?"

The figure hesitated and there was a flash of confusion over his face until Wren firmly grabbed his hand and placed it in Gray's. Gray clasped it as tight as he could, eyes burning as he struggled to make something of the burning in his chest —hope? It felt like hope— and the sight of Pauz there and alive and not eaten —not gone-gone-gone because Gray wasn't fast enough **again** , because Gray had been too reckless, **again** — and now Pauz was smiling at him understandingly, "I'm alright, Gray-kun. I'm alive, I'm real, I promise."

Gray exhaled with a shudder and firmly locked away the burning in his eyes in favor of demanding, "How? That- that **thing** ate you! You were just- you were gone!"

Pauz used his free hand to rub the back of his head, "Ah, well, Wren-chan saved me. She used her magic to snatch me out of the way just in time, but she was afraid of the snakes chasing me if they knew I was still there, so she made me stay quiet and hidden." A flash of shame cross his face, "I wanted to call out to you, I really did, but Wren-chan insisted and … and I was scared and then you passed out for **days-**."

" **Days**?"

Pauz made a noise of agreement, "Two days. Porlyusica-san, she's Fairy Tail's personal healer, said that you exhausted your magic reserves fighting Mast- eh, Kafuchi. You also had three cracked ribs, a lot of bruises, and a sprained ankle." The look on Pauz's face had grown more and more guilty with each injury he told Gray about —not that Gray's protesting body couldn't tell him itself— and Gray knew exactly what his friend was about to say next.

He was also having none of it, "Don't apologize." Pauz looked surprised and Gray, temporarily swallowing the blasted pride that had gotten him into so much trouble and prevented one too many goodbyes in the past, yanked Pauz forward to hug him. Pauz —and Doronbo— made a shocked noise at his actions, but Gray just clutched Pauz tighter and breathed, "I'm just glad you're alive."

Pauz's arms tentatively wrapped around his shoulders, and for a moment Gray was able to forget their audience, forget anything beyond his friend being alive and whole and **okay** -

And then Doronbo belly flopped onto the bed in an awkward —and painful— group hug, effectively ruining the moment with his shameless laughter and crowing about victory and how Gray was nothing but a big softy on the inside. Gray —in revenge for his now very achy and throbbing ribs— smacked the thief hard on the head and yelled in his ear to let him go.

The commotion led to a shameless tickle fight that eventually encompassed Pauz, Doronbo, Wren —who totally cheated at tickle fights using her magic— and the mini crowd of kids and teens that had been watching from the door —who all turned out to be Wren's siblings, despite looking absolutely nothing alike—. Gray would have loved to say that he won the tickle fight, but in truth, the winner was the cranky pink-haired lady who had burst through the door waving a basket and a broom in each hand, shouting obscenities at everyone to "get away from my patient before you ruin all my hard work in fixing him".

Of course, five minutes later —after determining that his ankle was fine and his ribs were healed for him to safely move around as he pleased—, she kicked him out the door —literally— with a curt command to go away because she hated people —why even be a doctor if you hated humans anyway? Why not be a vet or something?—.

Wren and her siblings —who finally introduced themselves and were apparently also a team called the _Raijinshū_ — led the way through the forest and back to Magnolia, Pauz quietly filling Gray in about what had happened while he was unconscious. Doronbo dropped in comments every few seconds, and the second eldest of Wren's siblings, a guy named Laxus, answered any of Gray's questions about the Fairy Tail guild with a surprising amount of patience.

Bickslow and Cana got into some kind of fight on the way, with insults and threats that sounded oddly rehearsed and that no one reacted to until a random bush got set on fire and Wren leveled the same death glare she'd used to cow Wakaba. It worked just as well as it had on the old man, and Gray had to wonder why in the world everyone found her so scary. Even if she was freakishly good at tickle fights and was pretty fearless to boot. Her eldest sibling, Mest, saw his baffled look and laughed sheepishly, "You were too busy fighting to notice Wren during the battle, so I guess you haven't actually seen Wren when she's angry."

Gray raised an unimpressed eyebrow, "What's so scary about Wren getting angry?"

Literally everyone but Gray and Wren herself shuddered in unison. Wren rolled her eyes expressively —she was pretty sarcastic for a six-to-seven-year-old mute— while Doronbo shoved his hands deep into his jeans pockets and looked terrified, "Pray you never find out kid. Seriously."

Gray was the one to roll his eyes this time and mutter that Doronbo was just a wuss under his breath. Which Doronbo and his stupid thief-hearing picked up, causing him to grab Gray and try to noogie him. Gray retaliated with a —perfectly deserved— collection of ice cubes down the back of Doronbo's pants. Doronbo —despite shrieking like a little girl— tried to grab Gray for an even harder noogie, and Gray —quite reasonably— threatened to turn Doronbo into a popsicle if he tried.

Anything that might have happened afterward was interrupted by a sharp slap to both of their heads by a irritated Wren's shadows and her redirecting their attention to the giant doors of the Fairy Tail guild building with a finger. Noogies and ice cubes were forgotten immediately as Gray stood and just … gaped. The massive double doors —which had previously been locked up tight— were now flung wide open, allowing Gray to look inside and see the absolute, utter war zone going on within.

A thrill of alarm went through him and his hands instinctively fell into their magic molding position, "Is everyone okay? Is the guild under attack in there?" He felt his ears heat when, in response to his questions, the _Raijinshū_ collectively burst out laughing, "Oi, shut up!"

The other _Raijinshū_ continued to laugh for several minutes more, but Mest endeavored to smother his chuckles and explain, "No one is under attack, Gray-kun. That's just the daily brawl."

Gray gaped as someone was sent hurtling out the double doors screaming hysterically, several of Wren's siblings ducking without so much as pausing in their laughter, "Daily **what**?" He'd seen battlefields that looked less intense. Surely Mest didn't mean that this was all in good fun?

"It's all in good fun," Mest shrugged obliviously and side-stepped as the tossed member picked himself up and charged back in with a frying pan —where had he gotten that?— and a war cry that sounded distinctly like "for the pompadour", "As a guild, we have a lot of energy to go around. When you combine that with a whole bunch of clashing personalities, a canceled vacation, and the guild liquor storage-" The other _Raijinshū_ stopped laughing rather abruptly when a table flew out of nowhere and decked Mest to the ground with a surprised grunt and a shattering of wood. Doronbo screamed high and loud and hid behind Pauz, who blinked silently at the entire affair. All of the _Raijinshū_ barring Wren all let loose war cries —Laxus's sounded distinctly like a roaring monster what-the-glaciers— and thundered into the guild building without bothering to check on their decked eldest sibling. Wren acted as if she was completely unsurprised —not that much seemed to shake her anyway, she was so weirdly calm for an almost-seven-year-old— and simply began trying to lift the pieces of table off of Mest by herself.

Gray, Pauz, and Doronbo all automatically shuffled forward to help, and Pauz asked hesitantly, "This didn't happen when we visited the guild while Gray was unconscious…"

Wren blinked at them, but it was Mest who answered as he groaned his way out from under the remains of the table, "That's because everyone was too busy taking care of the aftermath. An invasion of the town is a pretty big deal, even for us, so there's a lot of paperwork and cleanup to do. Gotta make sure none of Circus Night were hiding out in the back alleys, gotta talk to the local contractors about fixing yet another demolished building, gotta find the owner of the building and find out why he let an enemy guild stay in it, gotta make sure the Council isn't going to blame us for what happened … cleanup is a lot more complicated than the fighting really."

Mest sat up and dusted large chips of wood off of his clothes, "But now the worst of the cleanup is pretty much finished, the enemy is gone, you're okay, the Council has decided to only sentence Circus Night, and everyone has a lot of pent up energy to burn off celebrating." There was a massive crack of thunder and several high-pitched screams of surprised pain that accompanied a bright flash of electric light, "Or fighting. It's basically the same thing around here."

Gray peaked inside the door tentatively, examined the rolling mass of fists, insults, alcohol, and laughter and promptly decided that Old Man Gildarts had actually been right for a change.

Gray loved this guild.

He grinned and looked over his shoulder, "Are there any rules in there?"

Doronbo began shaking his head rapidly and even Pauz looked a bit uneasy, "Oh no, nu-uh, kid don't you **dare** -"

Mest spoke over the cowardly thief, "Don't kill anyone, don't pick a fight with the Master or Newgate-san, he's the giant in the corner, and make sure to announce loudly who you are and what you intend to do and you should be fine. Oh, and don't hit the girl with the blue hair even by accident, Marco has this mother hen instinct around her and he **will** set you on fire for getting too close to her."

Gray grinned, "Cool." Ignoring Doronbo's and Pauz's weak protests for his safety, Gray promptly threw his shirt over his shoulder —it would get ruined otherwise he was sure— and charged headfirst into the guild hall. Dodging the errant blast of water that happened to be aimed his way, Gray kicked someone's legs out from under them and used their falling body as a springboard to reach the top of one of the few tables still intact in the hall. The fighting nearest him actually paused as people registered his unfamiliar presence and Gray felt his grin grow bigger as he slammed his fist into his palm and shouted, "Alright, listen up! I'm Gray Fullbuster and I'm going to kick **all** your butts!"

The roar of laughter and challenges nearly deafened Gray as the brawl resumed with vigor and different guild members all actively tried to take him down. All sense of time or previous worries —as well as all of Porlyusica-san's warnings about his healing injuries— was completely forgotten in the whirl of ice and magic and fists and shouting. By the time the old man who was Fairy Tail's Master put a stop to the fight with a massive fist bigger than the rest of his body —what kind of magic was **that** anyway?—, Gray had received several new bruises, lost his shoes and his pants, and successfully defeated about twelve of the nearest Fairies. He also refused to feel grateful for the interruption of the brawl, even though Laxus was an absolute **monster** when it came to fighting —seriously, he was better than most of the adults in his own guild— and had been literally throwing Gray around by his —newly healed— ankle with just one hand.

Despite the ferocious grumblings of the Master as the fight broke up and everyone set about cleaning up the ruined tables and chairs and beer barrels, everyone was smiling and laughing and slapping each other on the back good-naturedly. As if they hadn't all been trying to kill each other just a few seconds ago. Gray was lying on his back, trying to re-inflate his lungs and wrap his head around the sheer atmosphere of the place when he spotted the Guild Master again and suddenly remembered the original reason he come here in the first place. He scrambled to his feet and lurched his way to the bar where the old man was sharing a drink with the old giant, "Hey, hey old man!"

Both of them looked down at him and raised eyebrows in creepy unison. The Guild Master set down his drink first, "Oh. If it isn't the young Ice Mage that Wren-chan's taken a shine to."

The Old Giant —hadn't Mest called him New-something?—, smiled from beneath his boomerang of a mustache, "You're going to have to be more specific than that, boy, we're both old men."

Gray squashed down the spike of curiosity —Wren had taken a shine to him? What did that even mean?— and unease —because he'd come so far to ask this, he couldn't back down now—, and crossed his arms tight over his chest, "I have a question for you."

The two old men exchange glances, "Which one of us?"

"Whichever of you knows more about forbidden magic."

The Old Giant's eyebrows shot up, but then he shook his head and sat back with a wordless, heavy sigh. The Guild Master was serious now, all the previous humor had left his face, "Alright then. Come up to my office, we can speak privately there." Gray followed the old man nervously toward the stairs, ignoring the weighted, unhappy stare of the Old Giant and the pineapple blond who had apparently overheard as he passed by. A tiny hand briefly caught his arm and he looked down, startled, to see Wren there. She held out a bundle of his clothes and he flushed as he took them back, but the stammered apology on his lips died as he saw the look on her face. She looked … very sad for some reason. There was a glint to her eyes that said she knew … something, or thought she did, that it was making her very unhappy.

He hesitated, torn between asking what was wrong and following the Guild Master up the stairs to finally get the answer to the question that had been burning in his chest for months. Then she smiled at him —so sad, so quiet, it looked just like Ul when- no don't think about that—, stepped aside, and waved him up the stairs. Gray went, but he couldn't help looking over his shoulder at Wren just as he reached the top. She was with her siblings again, gesturing and whistling in a way that made sense only to them, no sign of that _sad-old-knowing_ look she'd given him. He wondered if it was his imagination. He wondered what it would mean if it wasn't. "Coming boy?" Gray shook his head and followed the Guild Master deeper into the building, pushing aside that question in favor of the much more important one that had driven him all the way to Fiore from the Northern Continent.

Twenty minutes later, he had his answer. Iced Shell was permanent. There was no way to revert the state of the ice, and melting it would be the same as killing Ul all over again. The weight of it, the weight of _failure-failure-you're-fault-no-way-back_ nearly smothered him for several seconds, hurt him so much he couldn't breathe. Then Gray clenched his fists, _No. That isn't the only answer. I won't let it be the only answer._ Throwing back his shoulders, he forced his head up and looked the Guil- Master Makarov in the eye, "Then … I want to get stronger. **Way** stronger. Then, someday, I'll figure out a way myself!" _I won't give up, I_ ** _can't_** _. I owe her that much. I owe her so much more…_

Master Makarov sighed, "You say that but…"

Gray pushed on, refusing to let him finish that sentence, refused to let it sap what was left of his courage, "So please!" His voice gave out for a moment and he had to force back the burning in his eyes before finishing, "Let me join Fairy Tail!"

Master Makarov's eyebrows went up and he opened his mouth to answer when the door suddenly banged open. Gray whirled, hands already in position to form an Ice Shield, but then stopped in shock as Pauz and Doronbo blundered into the room. Doronbo's eyes were wide and his hands jittering, like when he was moments from running away, but he stood his ground instead and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Y-you can't! You can't join Fairy Tail!"

Gray narrowed his eyes, "What'd you mean I-!"

Doronbo shook his head wildly, "You **can't**! **Not without us**!"

It felt like someone had just frozen Gray solid. He couldn't move, couldn't speak past the lump in his throat, couldn't **think** \- Pauz stumbled forward a few steps and fell onto his hands and knees in a dogeza bow before Master Makarov, "Please… Please. Gray-kun is our friend, we can't- we can't just leave him alone here. Even if your guild is wonderful and Wren-chan and so many other wonderful people are here that would take care of him … he- he's our friend. He's my first friend. I know that I'm an enemy, and I know that Doronbo-san doesn't have very impressive magic and that neither of us have a right to ask this. Joining your guild is Gray-kun's dream, has for as long as I've known him, and I know we have no right to demand something that he deserves so much more than we do. But **please** ," Pauz looked up, tears bright and earnest behind his glasses as he met Master Makarov's gaze, "Let us join Fairy Tail too!"

Silence settled, still and fragile and thick. Gray stared at Pauz, at Doronbo who had just joined Pauz in his dogeza bow, and tried to breathe past the pressure in his chest. He hadn't thought-. But he should have really. If he was willing to go through so much trouble for them, then it wasn't impossible they felt the same way —even if he didn't deserve it, not with his luck and his many flaws, not when he was a murderer—. But for them to go so far as this…

A quiet chuckle broke the silence and Master Makarov jumped down from his desk. The small man strode over to the two bowing boys and gently touched their shoulders. He looked at them, then at Gray, and the smile on his face almost broke whatever control over his own tears that Gray had left, "All three of you would be **welcome** in Fairy Tail. If this is what the three of you really want, then I would be honored to have such brave and loyal young men such as yourselves become my children."

The tension in his chest melted away and Gray found himself smiling back even as Doronbo burst into messy tears and Pauz rubbed his eyes furiously behind his glasses with a grin that reached his ears. Master Makarov didn't comment or laugh at the two of them for crying —or for the suspicious burning in Gray's own eyes as he shuffled over and good-naturedly punched their shoulders only to be dog-piled in return—. He just waited until the three of them had calmed down somewhat before saying, "I'll tell Enno-chan to bring the inks and stamp, then you boys can choose your marks."

It was ten minutes after that that Gray, Pauz, and Doronbo shuffled back down the stairs into the guild hall after Master Makarov, each of them staying close to the other and each with a new guild mark stamped onto their persons. Gray rubbed the mark on his chest —darnit he'd lost his shirt again, oh well—, eyeing the navy blue symbol thoughtfully as Enno herded the three of them toward the bar. Pauz kept rubbing his right forearm where his dark green mark now sat and Doronbo was staring at his red-marked hand with the same expression as a person who expected to be bitten any second now.

It wasn't until they had actually reached the bar and Master Makarov had clambered onto it that Gray realized they were being watched. He glanced up at the sensation of eyes and saw Wren staring at him intently from her corner with her siblings, two of her brothers —Laxus and Bickslow— following her lead in eyeing him from across the guild. Hazel eyes settled on his new guild mark and that impression of old and knowing echoed through her gaze before she buried it under the smile she sent his way. Gray hesitated —should he go talk to her? Should he ask about the way she looked at him? Or was it all his imagination?— but then Master Makarov clapped his hands together loudly and within in seconds **everyone** in the guild was staring at the three of them, not just Wren and her brothers.

Doronbo hunched his shoulders tightly at the scrutiny and Gray did his best to meet the inquisitive gazes without flinching. Master Makarov sounded very … pleased … as he shouted, "Alright everyone! Meet our newest members, Gray Fullbuster, Pauz Lightless, and Doronbo…" Master Makarov trailed off and glanced inquisitively over at Doronbo, who flushed crimson and reluctantly muttered something under his breath to the old man. Master Makarov's lips twitched with clear amusement and Gray wondered why … until he finished introducing Doronbo, "Doronbo Genkōhan! Make sure to give them all a big welcome!"

There was a wave of cheers —and some muffled laughter— and Gray couldn't keep himself from breaking out cackling as he turned to Doronbo, " **Seriously**?"

Doronbo scowled down at Gray even as one of the Fairy Tail members came over and slapped him good-naturedly on the shoulder, "Not. A. Word. It's not like I can choose my surname anyway."

One of the members with a pompadour chuckled as he overheard, "And I thought Marco's last name was unfortunate, but wow. Didn't think anything could top-"

A blond with permanently half-lidded eyes appeared miraculously out of the crowd and slapped a hand over the speaker's mouth with a low, "For **the last time** , Thatch, that is **not** my surname and **you know it** , yoi. Stop saying that it is." Hand still clamped over Thatch's mouth, he nodded amiably to the three newest Fairies, "Welcome to the guild, yoi. If you ever want to try your hands at seafaring quests, you're welcome to join Oyaji's division."

Gray eyed Thatch curiously —what word had he been about to say?— even as he nodded, "Thanks. I'll keep it in mind."

The blond nodded and dragged Thatch off into the back of the crowd and the three found themselves swamped with questions and congratulations for several minutes before Master Makarov called them off with the order for everyone to start partying in celebration. A whirlwind of activity and cheering that almost overwhelmed him later —he was from the far North Continent, spontaneous parties just didn't happen, there were never enough spare resources for it— and Gray found himself rescued by a small hand on his wrist that led him to the oasis of relative calm that was the _Raijinshū's_ table.

Doronbo ended up crammed next to Mest on the far end, Pauz was smooshed against Gray's left shoulder, and Wren was grudgingly perched on Mest's lap. Bickslow's left shoulder was digging against Gray's right and he wasn't sure who's brilliant idea it was to put Cana next to Bickslow because even **he** could see the impending under-the-table kicking war. But they all somehow managed to fit ten people around a table only meant to accommodate six or seven at most, which he had to admit was as impressive as it was uncomfortable.

Laxus didn't seem at all uncomfortable with the tight squeeze oddly enough, just propped one elbow on the table and drawled, "So, what do you think?"

Gray grunted as a kick from Cana somehow missed Bickslow's feet and hit his, "I think you're all nuts."

"So … pretty cool?"

Gray couldn't help but grin, "Yeah."

Pauz eyed them all like they were some kind of rare book he hadn't figured out how to read yet, "Does this make us your newest siblings?"

Gray sputtered at the question —what made Pauz think that?— but Laxus shook his head, "Nah. Well, sort of. Everyone in Fairy Tail is family to everyone else **somehow**. But this isn't an invitation to the _Raijinshū_. This is just us doing our jobs as the senior kids of the guild and making sure the three of you don't get squashed flat or drunk because of the-" In sync, all the _Raijinshū_ ducked and someone forced Gray's head down just in time to avoid the flying barrel that shattered against the wall with a spray of ale and a cry of despair from some adult. Laxus popped his head up again and resumed as if nothing had happened, "so-called 'adults' in here. Besides, you look like you have the makings of your own team right here, I doubt you'd want the rest of us cluttering up your act anyway."

Gray considered the idea, "A team, huh…" he glanced over at Pauz, who beamed shyly, then Doronbo, who looked like he was already reliving horrors and chaos that had yet to occur, and grinned, "That sounds pretty good actually." Everything about Fairy Tail did. Wren smiled over at him from her perch and he had just enough time to wonder if he should ask about the oddly knowing looks she'd sent him earlier … before she calmly passed him his missing pants and Gray was too busy cursing himself and reclaiming the lost clothing article to care about the way she had looked at him with eyes far too old for her body.

* * *

 **For those who don't know Japanese or (like me) still rely on Google Translate for a lot of stuff, the joke about Doronbo's surname is that his first name is a pun on the Japanese word for thief (Dorobo) and since the wiki listed no last name for him, I gave him Genkōhan, which means Red-Handed, specifically in regards to a criminal caught in the act of a crime. Is it a terrible pun? Probably. Am I proud of it? Immensely. Especially when coupled with the location of his guild mark (red ink and on his hand, I'm terrible I know).**

 **Review Response: Dear RedWolf Lover, hello! He does indeed know, he's got a sharp mind like that, good at putting the pieces together from what he knows and what he sees. Well, don't scare your grandma, she doesn't need that. I'm flattered by your reaction though! I didn't have the heart to hurt Pauz too badly, he's just too much of a fluff ball (or is the term cinnamon** **roll? I don't remember) to torture him. Same, personalities are easy to figure out, interacting ... not so much.**

 **Dear Lightsbane1905, greetings! That would be the mind of Yuusuke Shirato, the writer of the spin-off manga Ice Trail. They may or may not have been sloshed at the time, I don't know. But hey, it's distinctive if nothing else.**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, hello there! That's a bit harsh ... but also possibly true. Honestly though, I personally think Ivan just got messed up during his missions, saw and gave in to one too many opportunities to make illegal cash he didn't have to share with the guild, got his ego stroked by just the wrong people and then just ... didn't stop. Kafuchi probably didn't help though. Is the 'fist of justice' a reference? Because I ... don't get it. Oh well, hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Dear Sweets and Tarts, hiya! Tada! Wish granted in regards to Pauz! I liked him too much to let him go.**

 **Dear Smile4the-World, hello! Well, I tried to finish this up as soon as I could for you, thank you for your patience. I hope the reactions were everything you hoped for!**

 **Dear snowleopard314, greetings! Well, thank you, I did my best (tips hat). It was fun to introduce one of the Main Cast for the first time.**

 **Dear Guest1234, hey there! So glad you enjoyed! As for your request, I did in fact post a Makarov POV with Doronbo's story in the Detours one-shot collection that accompanies this story. If you haven't seen it already, you should check it out!**

 **Dear KEZZ 1, hello! (tips hat) Thank you, I try!**

 **Dear Gerbilfriend, greetings! Pretty sure every member of the anime Main Cast makes some kind of notable entrance when adopted. Either that or have a delayed explosion of drama (Lucy and Phantom Lord anyone?). Still, makes things more interesting to write.**

 **Dear demonicKitsune2, hey there! I did consider it, and have posted it! Thank you for the kind (and polite) suggestion!**

 **Dear thatgirl221b, hi there! Glad you enjoyed! One of the few things that bug me about the spin-offs is that the interesting side characters never stick around. I mean, I know why they can't, but still. But with these guys at least, I got to remedy that. I hope you enjoy their inclusion in the guild and the changes they'll end up making!**

 **Dear Dark Rose Charm, hiya! So ... most of your reviews I can't really reply to because the next chapters answered your questions already. So I'll just say, thank you for leaving so many lovely reviews and I'm thrilled you enjoyed the story!**

 **Dear Pixie, hello! Yeah, I'm shipping Marco/Levy sibling-ship too. They clicked really well, it kinda surprised me when they kept popping up together in the same scenes. But Marco is a mother-hen. Yep, boyfriends beware. Especially if they're former guild enemies who already beat Levy up previously (cough, Gajeel, cough). Aw, that's a cool idea too! Ace could totally use a bookworm sister-sibling to dote on (also yes, I plan to introduce him eventually, I just have to plot out how). Levy has actually been tutoring Wren in those very things offscreen, but it's slow going. Ace and Natsu would be terrible together, especially if they got along. Just ... so much fire. So many explosions.**

 **Dear Captain343Spark, heya! ...I've creating a punning monster I just know it. That's fine, just please refrain from making puns that can be mistaken for explicit (though I will admit the Kafuchi pun did fit his personality). Other than that, glad you enjoyed! Yeah, Fairy Tail usually doesn't bother with stealth or strategy do they? I suppose that's why when they DO, it's so effective. Nobody expects it from them.**

 **Dear ChocoGummies, hi there! So thrilled you enjoy my story! I'll see if I can work in more Bickslow/Raijinshū family fluff, but for now, I hope you enjoyed Gray's official admittance into Fairy Tail!**

 **Dear Guest356, hey there! Believe me, I know your pain. It's one of the reasons I decided to try my hand at an OC-centric story in the first place. I'm thrilled that you think I've done a good job at it! Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! And don't worry, it won't suddenly be only about Gray and the other MCs once they join (not that we don't love them), Wren still has her own adventures to stumble across...**

 **Dear WolfGirl01, greetings! Yep, Wren can be pretty persuasive when she wants to be. Also, who says she isn't already going insane Fairy Tail style? It's just a slow, subtle path down (cackles ominously).**

 **Dear chibianimefan26, hello there! Aw, (offers tissues) thank you for your compliments! I work hard on this story.**

 **Dear Therashae, greetings! Absolutely. The more volatile the backstory, the more interesting (usually anyway).**

 **Dear SumCheeze, heya! That is very flattering, thank you! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter as well!**

 **Dear Guest, hello there! Hmm, your request will be taken into consideration. I do have plans for that section of the FT timeline, but I'm afraid I can't talk about any of them because of spoilers. Still, hopefully you'll enjoy it when we get there!**

 **Dear wolfsrainrules, hiya! Already covered that in a one-shot (pretty sure you saw it?). Hopefully this chapter is just as good!**

 **Dear trilbybard, greetings! Trust me, I tried every description I could think of before settling on 'egg' as the nicest but most accurate. Spotted pear isn't bad though.**

 **Dear Guest, hello there! Not quite what you requested, but I did post a one-shot of how Fairy Tail ended up coming back so soon from their vacation. Hmm, I could definitely see the two becoming bosom book-buddies. It would be hilarious to see them take on a mission together too.**

 **Dear Asuka1920, heya! Happy to hear it! Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Dear SilverKnight037, hello there! As much as I love the original FT work, my one major protest with Mashima is that he introduces such cool characters and then doesn't expand on them. Oh well, gives me more room to play with their backstories. Glad you enjoy when I do!**

 **Dear Styre, hi! Thank you (dips head), it really makes my day to hear/read that.**

 **Dear xPricefieldx, hello! First off, wow, three day speed-read run is impressive. While I appreciate your enthusiasm and suggestions, I designed Wren's signature outfit myself, and I personally think it fits her fairly well. It may not be 'dark' or 'epic', but Shadow Magic aside, Wren is a very sensible, down-to-earth person inside, so I felt that the lighter green dress (that brings out the green in her eyes) that was short enough to not get in her way would fit better than fancy armor. Plus, it makes people underestimate her because she looks too 'cute' and 'sweet' to be a terrifying Shadow Mage of Fairy Tail. But if you do want to draw her in an alternate armor/outfit, by all means! I'd be thrilled to see it. If you had a tumblr or facebook (or even instagram) that you didn't mind posting on, you could always post it there and tell me where to find it...?** **As for how many chapters to anime/manga territory ... no clue. Literally no clue. I try not to put estimates on myself because my muses always end up subverting it somehow. I do have a chapter planned out for Memory Days, which should happen about three or so years down the line timeline wise and I will be making timeskips ... but other than that, sorry, I can't give any kind of accurate estimate.**

 **Dear Freereader18, hi! (bows) Your reviews made my week. Seriously. Thank you! I am so happy you feel that way about my story, it's been a blast to write (most of the time), so I'm beyond thrilled to hear how much of a blast it is for others to read. I did enjoy my 'trip' (NaNo is a virtual camp, but sometimes it doesn't feel that way), and I'm happy to be back!**

 **Dear JullietteStar, hello there! Happy to hear it! Let's see, currently their ages should be Wren: 6-7, will be 7 around April I think?), Laxus would be ... 14 I believe (turned 14 a few chapters back in the Ivan arc), Bickslow: 12-13 (don't remember when exactly his B-Day is), Evergreen/Freed: 10-11, Cana: 8-9, Mest: 14-15, Gray: 9, Pauz: 9, Doronbo: 14. Wren is actually 7 years younger than Laxus (she's 6 when he's 13) and around 2 to 3 years younger than the Main Cast depending on which one it is (2 years younger than Gray when disregarding specific B-Days and going only by Birth Years for instance). During the events of the first FT anime season, Wren will be 16. I hope that all helps? I can start posting official ages on the bottom of each chapter if people keep getting confused.**

 **Dear Aiyaki, hiya! I have every intention of finishing this story, I just take a while sometimes because of scheduling conflicts and Real Life. Meeting Natsu and then later Lucy should be fun (especially since she's a die-hard Nalu shipper back in her old world). I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter as much as the previous ones!**

 **Dear Guest, hello! Well, it isn't soon, but it was an update! I hope you liked it and thank you for your review!**

 **Dear Ori Heartlyng, hi there! Gray-sama indeed! Thank you, I'm so glad you've enjoyed the journey so far! The overcoming inner demons thing was always one of my favorite parts of Fairy Tail, so I've done my best to capture that in my story. Love is their biggest motivator, especially considering that most of them come from affection-starved backgrounds when you think about it (Cana and her drinking problem and Erza's slave background come immediately to mind for me). When you add in that magic is literally fueled by emotions, then yeah, love is their greatest strength and driving force. (grins) It's okay, I ramble all the time too.**

 **Dear CrystalVixen93, greetings! Um, it wasn't soon, but hopefully it was worth the wait? I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Dear Alephion, hi! I'm honored that you gave my story a try and thrilled that it succeeded in provoking such successful reactions from you! Yes, her violin is one of the last things she has to remind her of her old life, so I thought it appropriate for her to accept and move on once she received it (didn't expect it to happen in the Christmas chapter, but such is the whims of the muses). Thank you and I hope you enjoyed the latest update!**


	38. Chapter 37: Stranded

**Here we go! Next chapter! I know a lot of you wanted me to skip straight to Erza's arrival, but I really wanted to put this arc in and I also didn't want to time skip quite as drastically as meeting Erza would require. So here we go, a new arc! Just a warning, this chapter get's a little ... scary in the latter half. Quick aside: Review Responses will be at the bottom of the chapter.**

 **Author's Note: SO, new arc, which is going to be something of a crossover in the same vein as meeting Newgate and the others were. Not a true universe-to-universe crossover, but me borrowing characters from another anime and creating Earthland counterparts for them. Hopefully everybody will enjoy it! Also, because of how many lovely reviews I get (thank you guys!) I've decided to change how I reply to reviews. If you're a member I'll PM a response to you as soon as I have the time, while Review Responses in the chapter will be reserved for those who aren't signed in when they review/guests. This time around I'll still answer all the reviews in the Review Response like normal, but afterwards I'll start PMing review responses to members. Please note that when I PM you a review response PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO IT unless you have another story-related question. It isn't that I don't really appreciate the reviews or anything, but I don't have the time to keep track of 20+ different conversations on top of Real Life, writing, editing, etc. I would inevitably lose track of who I've replied to and who I haven't and accidentally end up ignoring someone and I really don't want to do that to anyone. Anyway, I think that's everything. So onward!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any other references in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty-Seven: Stranded**

 **(1 year, 3 months, 2 weeks, 5 days since joining Fairy Tail)**

.

Grit and sand against her cheek and arms, the steady hush and hum of waves climbing and receding from the shore. Everything ached. Most of her body felt hot, but her legs felt cold from the water splashing up to her calves at regular intervals before retreating without her. Wren frowned, trying to put together what was wrong about … well, everything, while her mind struggled to finish waking up. _I think … I think…_

 _Thunder. Pounding rain. A sudden, almighty crash that shook her teeth. The split-second realization that the wall on her right was_ ** _gone_** _and_ ** _water was everywhere-get-her-out-get-her-out-can't-breathe-_**

Wren's eyes jerked open with a gasp that promptly turned into a hacking cough as sand tried to crawl down her throat. She pulled herself to her hands and knees, hacking remnants of seawater and the gritty particles of worn away rocks that made up every beach known to man. Her head joined in the general dull clamor of aches and pains, but considering the faint snatches of memory dumping adrenaline through her veins, it was a miracle she didn't feel worse. _Seawater… seawater? How was seawater coming through the Guild Hall wall?_

She rolled carefully away from the sick-dampened patch of sand and squinted at the sky above her head. _Since when is it late morning? It was already afternoon wasn't it?_

Something was wrong.

Wren sat up slowly and looked around, trying to get her bearings and remember what had happened to land her in her current circumstances. It had been a training day for the _Raijinshū_ , no jobs to be taken in favor of practicing their teamwork on Laxus's newest obstacle-come-torture course —complete with a pair of Vulcans he'd intimidated into being useful for a change in chasing the boys around instead of the girls—. After surviving an entire morning of Laxus's training methods and working together successfully in whatever random team pair he called out —Cana and Evergreen had been the most epic near-disaster yet, they were even worse than putting Bickslow and Cana on the same team— Laxus had called a break and they had all trooped down to the guild hall for lunch and then…

 _Thunder. Pounding rain. A sudden, almighty crash that shook her teeth. The split-second realization that the wall on her right was_ ** _gone_** _and_ ** _water was_** ** _everywhere-get-her-out-get-her-out-can't-breathe-_**

And then waking up here with an aching body and head. Wherever here was. She could see nothing familiar in her surroundings. The beach was an ocean beach, not any of the lake beaches she knew. The horizon was endless and untouched by land and behind her the beach gave way to unfamiliar rolling grasslands which in turn gave way to a forest at least a mile away. Certainly not the beach-hugging woods she knew around Magnolia. This was not anywhere she had been before to her memory.

And that was the problem wasn't it? There was something wrong with her memory. Nobody went from walking into the guild hall for lunch to flashes of **drowning** to an ocean beach with nothing recognizable in sight. Not even Fairy Tail. No, there were pieces to this she was missing, probably big ones, and that realization had all of the hair on the back of her neck standing up. Wren pushed herself to her feet, confused and worried, and did another check of her surroundings.

There was no sign of the other _Raijinshū_.

She pushed down the automatic flair of worry and borderline panic. The _Raijinshū_ could handle themselves, and Fairy Tail luck never threw members into something they couldn't survive with enough elbow-grease and bull-headed stubbornness —which were both things her teammates had in spades—. So, instead of worrying about them, for the moment she should worry about herself.

 _Too open here. Too obvious._ She needed to leave the beach. It flew in the face of the big number one survival rule of her old world —sit down and stay put until help arrives— but in Earthland, staying in one place could easily —and had easily in the past— turn into a trap. She was too exposed here. Even the grasslands behind her would be better, the hills and rocks would provide at least some ways to break an enemy's line of sight, and the tree-line would provide shadows to use in self-defense once she reached it. The others would just have to either find her or lead her to them with their explosive tendencies.

Decision made, Wren turned away from the ocean horizon and made for the forest in the distance.

.

.

.

Less than twenty minutes into her trek across the grasslands, Wren realized that there was something … very weird about her surroundings.

The grass was mowed. Or at least, it kind of felt like it was. The entire area might have given off a wild, untouched aura, but the grass was far from the waist-to-chest high oceans she was used to slogging through in areas like this —being a short seven-year-old was not fair on so many levels—. Here, it was barely up to her ankles. The rocks were on the smallish side too, not the boulders she'd been halfway anticipating to use as cover should someone —or something— try to attack her. True, the grass was nowhere near as short as it should have been if a proper lawnmower had been used on it, but how did wild grass stay so consistently short without outside interference?

Uneasy, Wren decided to take a risk and use her magic to just teleport straight to the forest. Her reserves had grown by leaps and bounds since joining the guild, so it shouldn't take too much out of her to teleport that far. She stepped into the shadow of one of the rocks and mentally reached out in the direction of the forest. Velvet ghosted up her arms and brought faint sensations of cool shade and old oak smell along with the now anticipated glimpses of what lay beyond the shadow she was reaching for. She selected a shadow that was a decent distance in from the tree line, but wasn't far enough away to strain her range too badly —hey look, Laxus's crazy training **was** paying off, her range was getting bigger every week—, and pulled.

A moment later, she was in the forest, studying her surroundings through the monochrome lens of the shadows. No monsters were prowling, no giant snakes, no bandits, and the trees didn't **look** particularly carnivorous upon her fifth and even eighth paranoid inspection —long story, new mild phobia, yay her life—. She finally stepped out of the shadows, then waited twenty seconds for disaster to strike. When disaster didn't throw anything more dangerous then a cursing chipmunk of some kind —far too high pitched even for a squirrel, it sounded high and quiet enough to be a baby chipmunk honestly—, Wren concluded it was safe enough to resume walking. Where, she had no idea, but the opposite direction of the beach seemed as good as any, so on she padded with ears open and magic at the ready.

By the end of the hour, Wren stopped by a large, shallow stream for a breather and to reconstruct her slowly cracking composure. Because one, her memory of how she got here still hadn't returned, two, Fairy Tail Luck hadn't shown up yet and that was making her paranoid, and three, there was something even weirder about the forest than the grasslands. It was too quiet. Not in the dead silent, danger is near kind of way. But in the "there are no deer or large animals of any kind and the only animals she could hear were tiny birds and baby chipmunks" kind.

As a mute, and a shadow mage, and a midget in general, Wren had learned the use of her ears over her eyes in judging her surroundings pretty fast. As a musician, pitch and key had been hammered to the point of being essentially etched into her DNA. She **knew** when something sounded higher or lower than it should, or when something was too quiet. And the forest animals checked off those boxes splendidly. It didn't help she hadn't been able to spot them during her entire trek, only hear them amid the oak branches —and there was something off about the oaks too, she just couldn't pinpoint it—.

She splashed stream water on her face and neck and through her hair to finally wash off the beach sand, but she retrieved the large water canteen from her newfound requip space —it could only hold a grand total of four items at the moment, which were her future-knowledge diary, the canteen, a box of energy bars, and her prized violin— from which to drink. She didn't trust her surroundings and she was not going to tempt Fairy Tail Luck by drinking water that might be enchanted somehow if she could help it.

She was just finishing her last reluctant sip —she wanted more, but she'd read enough novels before coming to Earthland to know about conserving supplies— when all of the hairs on her arms went up and something deep inside her recoiled with a sensation of **wrong** so intense it made it hard to breathe. Wren stood up in an instant, moving back into the shadow of a large tree and stuffing her canteen back into her requip space as she tried to find the source of the wrong.

Footsteps echoed eerily through the quiet. Something big and heavy, probably two-legged unless it's leg movements were very synced. Wren slid into the world of shadows, watching through the safety of a monochrome lens as something moved in among the trees. The feeling of wrong grew worse, roiling in the pit of her stomach like poison and chilling her spine like ice. The thing came ever closer, and every step it took made Wren feel like the character of a horror movie. Or a nightmare. Trapped in stillness, afraid to move and risk being seen, terrified to stay and see what was coming closer.

It stepped through the trees and Wren felt like throwing up as her magical senses **screamed** at her _wrong-perversion-unnatural-get-away-get-_ ** _away-from-me-_** with a force that trapped bile in her throat and drew blood from her palms from the pressure of her fingernails.

It looked like a person — _it wasn't a person it was wrong-dead-wrong-evil_ —, but a naked, awkwardly proportioned person that had no … private parts to hide — _it wasn't meant to procreate, only destroy run away run-away-before-it-sees-you_ —. It's head was too big, like a bobble-toy, a permanent — _broken, perverted, unnatural get-it-away_ — smile pasted onto its face and short, toddler-like limbs flopping heedlessly against its beer belly. It was also big. Dangerously big. At least eight feet tall, and for all of its awkward, bumbling — _twisted, unnatural, not living_ — proportions, it could easily break her bones if it got ahold of her, cartoonish toddler-shaped limbs or not — _it would do more than that, it would kill her_ ** _eat her_** _she-needed-to-get-away_ —.

Wren didn't dare breathe, even though she knew logically it couldn't know she was there because she was in the shadow world and unless she broke cover and moved through a sunny patch, nobody had ever spotted her. Not when in a ambient patch of natural shadows. That same logical part of her brain told her she shouldn't be so terrified. Grossed out, yes, embarrassed, yes —because it was weird and humanoid enough for its nakedness to be awkward, lack of actual parts to cover up notwithstanding—, but not terrified out of her breath and soul. But her instincts were howling a different story, and she had learned to listen to her instincts over her head in matters of strange things long before joining Fairy Tail.

It tilted its head back —how did that tiny neck not snap and why did the thing look as familiar as it was horrifying— and sniffed the air like some kind of particularly ugly bloodhound. It sniffed several more times, then slowly lumbered forward-

Directly to the spot where she had been standing moments before.

Something that looked suspiciously like drool dribbled from the corner of its endlessly grinning mouth as it dropped onto all fours and snuffled the short grass for several seconds, then slowly turned its head to look. Right. At. Her.

Her courage shattered as her instincts overrode everything else. She recoiled from it, scrambling for a different shadow to teleport to, **any** different shadow — **anywhere** but **right there** — that might be safer as it turned and began to slowly shamble toward her current shadow with that eerie-empty smile. Her senses flared, searching whatever parts of the forest she could reach in seconds and coming to the horrifying realization that there were **more of them** scattered across the entire area and **how had she not sensed them before run-run-hide-RUN-**

There was a flash of white in her mind's eye, a towering shadow just barely on the edge of her range, as far away from the creature in front of her as possible, and she yanked blindly on it. She fell backward through the cold black of the space in between the shadows, tumbling out graceless and shaking and scared out of her mind in the huge shadow of what her mind dimly registered as a very large stone wall.

She didn't pay any attention to the wall though, just turned and **ran** , as fast as she could in the direction opposite the thing — _she knew what it was now, she_ ** _knew that creature_** _, but that was impossible, it was, it had to be, she didn't dare name it or else it really would be real_ — and its scattered lookalikes. She ran in shadow form for longer than she ever had before, a blind dash guided only by the flaring burn of _wrong-wrong-get-away-get-away_ on her senses that alerted her panicking mind whenever she got too close to another one of the wandering creatures and made her swerve away.

Eventually, her blind flight was forced to a halt by her dwindling magic and heaving lungs. Skidding to a shaky stop, Wren looked wildly around for a place to hide — _don't rest out in the open, they'll find you-they'll-kill-you_ —. Her gaze only half took in the ruins of a once-respectable town —too short, like standing in the set of a movie or being in a dream where everything only came up to her shoulder or just above her head and all the windows were no bigger than her fist—, not really registering just how wrong the proportions were aside from the desperate lack of a good hiding place. Her eyes fell on the largest building in the town and instinct —she knew that shape, knew those kinds of windows and it meant safety and quiet and hidden away— sent her scrambling to it.

The door was a bit small, but not too small for her to frantically nudge them open and crawl inside on her hands and knees —too small for the **things** to get in after her, and the stone walls of the building were hopefully sturdy enough to withstand physical assault—, practically turning sideways to fit her shoulders through the opening. She kicked the doors shut once inside —couldn't advertise she was here, open doors begged exploration— and fled all the way to the far back of the building. The inside building was much more spacious than the door had been. At least twice her height and long enough to have counted as a hallway if everything was normal. It was only about two, maybe two and a half feet wider than she was tall, but that was okay. It was a good hiding place, a safe place to recover her magic or buy her enough time to get away should trouble find her and that was all she needed.

It wasn't until she had shimmied and bumbled past the stacked crates and ruined furniture to tuck herself away in a far corner that was invisible to the door and spent several minutes panicking and gasping that she fully registered where she was hiding. It was a church of some kind. Like a smaller version of the one that had sheltered her and Bickslow when they were homeless children, albeit one that didn't seem to have a bell-tower and had definitely seen better days.

The pews were mostly gone, only a few battered and out of line survivors scattered around parts of the building. A lot of the floorspace was taken up by stacked crates and boxes and barrels she couldn't determine the content of, which indicated somewhere in the back of her mind that the church was being used as a warehouse by somebody — _if that somebody hadn't been caught and killed by the_ ** _things_** _already,_ a part of her mind whispered—. Most of the colored, picturesque windows were missing, either entirely or in big pieces. Dust motes drifted past her wide, frightened eyes as she stared around and it was easily clear that nobody had been in the church in quite some time.

Of course, with those — _wrong-broken-unnatural-perversion-of-life_ — monsters out there, Wren couldn't exactly be puzzled over that now could she?

 _Not just any kind of monster. Just like this is not just any kind of church._ Wren cradled her head in her hands and took deep, shaking breaths as the first of the only two gory anime she'd ever been coerced into watching came flooding back into her mind and clicked with her surroundings and the … thing she had seen. A choked hiss escaped her teeth as she squeezed her eyes shut to keep tears from escaping.

 _How, in the name of all that is holy, did I wind up in Attack on Titan?_

She didn't know. She didn't know and she prayed she was wrong, but she didn't know how she could be wrong after what she'd seen. That creature had been a titan —if a small one? Compared to what she would have expected at least—, she had caught glimpses of the broken Wall —M-something, a girl's name, not near as high as in the anime, but still tall, it was the Wall's shadow she'd used to escape the first titan—. There were ruins of a town and no signs of people, no doubt either all killed or fled to one of the other Walls.

But there were things that didn't add up to that theory. She was one hundred percent human, yet the buildings were far too short —except this church, and even it was small for the level of ruined splendor it contained, not to mention the crawl-sized entrance—. So what did that mean? That whoever had lived here wasn't human? Or that they were some kind of … Lilliputian people?

And none of that even began to cover how she would have gone from the Fairy Tail universe to Attack on Titan —and if she did that, how would she teleport through shadows? Why would her magic react so viscerally to the presence of Titans? AoT didn't even have magic beyond bite-thumb-be-monster-Eren—.

What had happened in between heading to the guild hall for lunch and now?

What…?

The exhaustion and stress —both physical and magical— tugging at her senses dragged her under somewhere in the middle of her frantic thoughts, pulling her into a fitful sleep despite her best efforts.

.

.

* * *

 **Review Response: Dear Danny Phantom 619, greetings! Glad you liked it!**

 **Dear GiantPsychoGecko, hey there! (cackles) Definitely that, if Gray doesn't do something to anger Wren before Natsu shows up. Which is a possibility considering the shenanigans he gets into.**

 **Dear Dark Rose Charm, hiya! Well, I'm back! Don't worry, Gray will still be on Team Natsu. Remember, the formation of Team Natsu is years away, plenty of time for Gray to have some fun with a different team before they all settle on missions specialities and stuff. Well ... I can tell you that the first time Wren officially meets her love interest, they will try their very hardest to punch each other in the face. Hows that for a clue? Hope you enjoyed the new chapter!**

 **Dear Smile4the-World, hi! (Flourishes hat) Thank you, I try. Glad you are enjoying the changes. They're gonna get bigger as time goes on (though some things will stay the same because Fairy Tail). Well, I hope you can wait a while longer, because the pace isn't really going to change at all. But we'll get there eventually and when we do, I think you'll be VERY happy with who she's gets paired with (winks). Thank you for your patience and see you next chapter!**

 **Dear BlackDove WhiteDove, hello there! (offers tissues) The Christmas chapter does seem to do that to people, which was my intent, but still. Also, all hail Gray! You're welcome, I hope you enjoyed this newest one too!**

 **Dear KEZZ 1, greetings! Well, wasn't really 'soon' but it's here now. Did you like it?**

 **Dear thatgirl221b, hi there! He is adorable isn't he? I had a lot of fun writing him.**

 **Dear** **YumiKnowsBest, hi! Erza is the next canon member to meet, though you'll have to wait until after this arc for her to show up. There will be an extra member for Team Natsu because of this, but I'll let you guess which of Gray's friends it'll be. The canon answer to that is that Pauz and Doronbo were off doing other things when Natsu's Fairy Tail Luck happened. The Real Life answer is that I hadn't read Ice Trail yet and so didn't know about them. Don't worry though, they're still fine during the events of Wren's time travel. Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Dear Arthanos, hey there! Glad you liked it! Don't worry, I'll get around to Erza's introduction soon, I just need to finish this arc (and maybe one or two other loose threads).**

 **Dear SilverKnight037, greetings! You're welcome, I'm so happy you enjoy it! Don't worry, we'll get there eventually.**

 **Dear Gerbilfriend, hello there! (grins) I've always felt that Grey and Natsu just ... clicked with the guild instantly. They just have the nature for it you know?**

 **Dear RedWolf Lover, hi there! I'm so sorry you weren't feeling well, I hope you got better soon (and are still better). I couldn't resist the pun, even though I usually don't like them. I've been fine, just a bit busy is all (and about to get busier but meh, such is life).**

 **Dear Natzed202, hello! You're welcome, hope you enjoyed!**

 **Dear Guest, hey there! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, even without Bickslow's conversation with Wren (it was all overprotective brother ranting anyway so...).**

 **Dear Blaise Welshman, greetings! Oh, I never really STOP writing for more than a few days, I just have a lot of different projects to work on plus Real Life to deal with, so it can take me a while to update any one story. (Laughs quietly) Oh, knowing me, it probably will end up as long as Russian Roulette. Yeah, but it's starting to get to me, so after this I'll be PMing responses as much as I can. These sections can get a little ridiculous, even if I love getting reviews.**

 **Dear Raijinsh Member, hello! (laughs) well, I can't say whether you are or aren't the only one, but I very much appreciate the reaction either way!**

 **Dear Dragon Lord Draco, greetings! Couldn't resist, it was just too easy to do. Ooh, okay, that makes sense. Fist of justice ... isn't that a One Piece thing?**

 **Dear Captain343Spark, hello! Aw, thank you! That makes my day to hear! (Reads pun, slow claps) THAT was so bad, it was absolutely awesome. Hats off to you.**

 **Dear Therashae, hi! Eventually yeah, I just need to work through this arc first.**

 **Dear WhiteDogwood, hey there! Me too, I enjoy writing this one a lot more than canon Laxus. So happy you like it!**

 **Dear Oldwinterfang, greetings! Aw ... that really makes my day to hear, thank you! I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter!**

 **Dear ChocoGummies, hey there! Indeed! Gray is a hoot to write (when he isn't being frustrating).**

 **Dear Freereader18, hello! I do my best to reply to every review I get. Thank you, I try really hard! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you next time!**

 **Dear SumCheeze, hiya! Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter too. Aw, thanks. Wren is actually one of my favorite OCs now, so it's always wonderful to hear when she wins someone else over too.**

 **Dear WolfGirl01, hello there! Hmm, sorry, can't tell you either of those because spoilers. But hopefully you'll enjoy the changes Wren makes when we get there!**

 **Dear Fei Shuki, hello! Well thank you for giving this story a try despite your misgivings! I'm so glad you like Wren as a character. I've tried to make her fit in with the rest of Fairy Tail's crazy bunch. Ice Trail was fun! I really enjoy most of the Fairy Tail spin-offs I've gotten my hands on, so I hope to include others in the future too. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Dear Nariel Helyanwe, hi there! (offers tissues) Well ... that's kinda my job as a writer? So glad you enjoy it though!**

 **Dear Wicken25, greetings! The girl with the blue hair that Marco is so protective of is little Levy. He thinks she's adorable and since she's the youngest barring Wren (who acts like a mini-adult most of the time) his mother hen instincts go a little nuts around her. I might end up doing a few more future one-shots, but they're hard to write because I don't know how the plot will change between then and now and I wouldn't want to leave a plot hole that way... We'll see.**

 **Dear Dragon27998, hey there! Um ... as amazing as that theory is, I'm afraid it's incorrect. Gray's backstory went exactly as canon, I just call Ur by Ul instead because it makes so much more sense to me. I mean, Ultear's name is supposed to mean "her mother's tears", by combining her mother's name with the word tear. So by that logic, then technically Ultear should either be URtear or Ur should be UL. I like the spelling Ul better than Ur, so I just made a switch over of the letters. Sorry that made you get your hopes up for a massive AU in Gray's backstory. We will be getting very AU in other areas eventually, so ... I hope you still like the story?**

 **Dear Kalmaegi, hello! I know right? I like writing the Raijinshū as the guild's collective big sibling team.**

 **Dear The Independent Variable, hiya! Why thank you, it's always wonderful to know that I've done my job as a writer correctly. Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!**


	39. Chapter 38: First Contact

**Alrighty! Finally got a spare moment to post this (I have fallen victim to the same great time devourer as many others on this site: College), thank you all for your patience and reviews! I hope you enjoy this!**

 **Review Response: Dear Blaise Welshman, hello there! Yes, I can see how that would get annoying. I'm replying to you here by the way because I can't seem to PM you, the site won't give me the option. Sorry about that. Thank you for sticking with the story despite the lack of hype! Hopefully it will grow on you.**

 **Dear WhiteWolf815, hey there! (tips hat) Your wish is my command, prepare for another cliffhanger! (laughs) I figured people would figure it out pretty fast. This arc is going to be ... interesting to write... Hope you enjoy the update!**

 **Dear Guest, greetings! Then clearly I have done my work well. Enjoy the update!**

 **Dear Guest, hello! That's basically what Wren's thinking, yeah. The only answer I can give is that I was bored and my friend has too much fun throwing out weird ideas.**

 **Dear masimagine, hi! Yep, she still has magic and nope, she's not in a different universe. Remember the counterparts to the Whitebeard crew from One Piece showing up? This is like that, but on a larger, scarier scale. You're welcome and (winks) you might just get your wish granted if you stick around long enough!**

 **Dear Guest, hello there! No one ever said Fairy Tail Luck was pretty. Eh, it'll be fine ... eventually.**

 **Dear Captain343Spark, hey there! I would lecture you about good sleeping habits but ... I think I'm a bit too flattered that you were up so late reading my story. Glad you enjoyed!**

 **Author's Note: So, just a reminder, WREN IS NOT IN A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE. This is me dropping counterparts of places and people into Earthland to flesh it out. Sorta like how Mystogan was (spoilers) Jellal from Edolas. Everything else will be revealed in time. Also, for those who read my other stories, I'm working on them still. Ballad is giving me writer's block again and the AMOSC chapter is turning into a monster-length one, but I'm still working on them. I also hope to have the next chapter of ER up as soon as I have another pocket of free time. All that aside, enjoy the chapter and beware the Cliffhanger at the end!**

 **Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the Plot.**

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 **Chapter Thirty-Eight: First Contact**

 **(1 year, 3 months, 2 weeks, 6 days since joining Fairy Tail)**

 _._

 _._

 _A hand running through short brown hair,_ _"We're getting closer to The Storm, you should be able to see it from here."_

 _The flash of curious gray eyes, "The Storm?"_

 _A short nod, the taste of salt on the fresh air as they all listened intently, "The Storm is — magical turbulence. It causes a massive storm and fog bank that lasts all year long. No — survives going in."_

 _A narrowed gaze, judging the rising black clouds in the distance, "So why are we?"_

 _._

 _._

 _Thunder. Pounding rain. A sudden, almighty crash that shook her teeth. The split-second realization that the wall on her right was_ ** _gone_** _and_ ** _water was everywhere-get-her-out-get-her-out-can't-breathe-_**

.

.

Thunder snarled, loud and long, and Wren woke up.

She stared blankly at the stone wall in front of her, mouth open in silent gasps as she struggled to catch the vestiges of memory that had been floating through her mind. _A storm … a magical storm? We … went into it? How? Why? Where were we, what were we doing? Who is_ ** _we_** _?_ The _Raijinshū_ to start with, she was sure she remembered flashes of Freed's hair and hearing Laxus's voice in the dream. But there had been someone else, someone familiar —who's voice was that and why could she not remember the sound of it now that she was awake?—, telling them something important. She hadn't caught all the words, but clearly something more had been going on than going to the guild for lunch.

A chill settled in her spine, _How long have I been gone?_ Because if she was right and that had been another flash of her missing memories, than it couldn't have happened on the same day she last remembered. The gap was bigger than she'd thought, and there was something very important trapped inside it.

Wren closed her eyes to concentrate past the hollow drumming of rain —it must have started sometime during her sleep, but it was falling heavy and hard now—. She needed a plan. Wherever she was —she refused to think of it as another world, wouldn't give in to the despair that possibility would bring—, she needed to figure out where it was in relation to Fiore, needed a plan to get **out** and away from the titans that lurked … wherever here was.

With shaking hands, she dug her thermos and an energy bar out of her Requip space —she could feel her blood-sugar wavering, magical exhaustion always did that and she'd need a clear head to think more— and carefully took a few sips of water before putting it back in Requip and yanking open the wrapper of the bar. She crumpled up the wrapper and put it in her pocket to throw away later —a lost, oversized person in this place she may be, a litterer she was not— and began slowly munching on the bar.

The taste of apple, cinnamon, and oats hit her tongue and made her stomach growl faintly. She ate slowly as she glared at the wall opposite her hiding place and tried to figure out what to do. Her magical reserves were better, but still on the low side, so willy-nilly teleportation was out. She didn't like the idea of just walking in a random direction and hoping she'd find answers and not titans.

She was so wrapped up in her own problems and keeping a magical sense out for titans that she didn't notice the faint clatter of tiny footsteps approaching the church over the sound of the roaring rain. What she did notice was the ominous groan of one of the church doors creaking open and the rain growing louder through the new opening. Her heart slammed into her throat and she instinctively curled her feet underneath her body in preparation to run or fight, _titans? But they don't know how to open doors do they? They just smash things in their way. And I don't sense them, so what-?_

She strained her hearing, not daring to move from her spot, and felt her lungs falter in surprise as she picked up a breathless mutter of, "Hurry … in here!" _People? What are people doing in the middle of titan territory? That isn't anyone from Fairy Tail. Wait, then that means that they're-_

There was scuffling and a muffled whimper, followed by a tired apology and the sounds of the church door being forced shut, partially muting the drum of falling water once more. Tiny footsteps scuffled closer and Wren pressed herself as far into her corner as she could as she listened, "Easy," the voice was female, with a thick twang of an accent Wren couldn't place that was made thicker by exhaustion, "This i' where tha map said tha emergency supplies for this sector were stashed, righ'?" The question had worry laced in it, a prompting tone that made Wren immediately think that the speaker was more trying to get a response out of the other person than asking out of actual curiosity.

A pained grunt and a panting male voice answered, "…Right. The walls are pretty thick and the rain is so heavy… Unless a titan passes right by the church … this place should … be safe for a few hours."

"Right. Great. Let's jus' get ya somewhere dry, then Ah'll fin' tha medical supplies an' tha towels. Ya'll be fixed up in no time, ya'll see."

The voices were coming closer and Wren kept her body as still as possible, trying frantically to decide if she should flee via the shadows or stay put. Her fear of the monsters wandering around somewhere outside was greater than her instinctual fear of whoever was coming —even though she had a strong suspicion that they were going to be noticeably smaller than she— and so she stayed frozen in place as the speakers rounded the crates and made for the opposite corner Wren was curled up in.

The lighting was extremely dim from the rain and lack of lamps, but she could see that they were very small. The tallest of the two was only a single foot in height if she guessed right, though it was hard to tell with him leaning so heavily on the shorter one —who was maybe ten inches? It was hard to tell—. The taller —the man— was clearly hurt, one leg was dragging slightly behind him and couldn't take much of his weight and his breathing was labored and pained. The smaller —the girl, woman? She sounded too young to be a woman, but that might have just been the smaller vocal cords— had exhaustion in her body posture, but was clearly pushing on with a cheerful facade for the sake of her comrade.

Both of them were wearing the iconic jackets and 3D maneuvering gear of the Survey Corps. Their green capes were tattered almost beyond recognition, the hoods being one of the only things intact, if soaked by the rain. Their gear was dented, and one of the man's —blade holsters? Hip canisters? Jets? She forgot the proper title so she'd just pick one— hip canisters had a concave as big as her thumb —which was pretty big on equipment that small—. Tellingly, it was on the same side as the man's injured leg, making her suspect that whatever else had happened to them —on foot and only two of them in a titan-infested area in the heavy rain **couldn't** be a normal or good thing—, the man had had a very intimate meeting with a large immovable object of some kind in the recent past. As someone who had, in the past three and a half years of her life, had many such intimate encounters with things including but not limited to rocks, trees, roads, ground, buildings, monster abs —don't ask—, and in one case a monster tooth the size of a carriage —not the same monster as the abs, but don't ask—, she sympathized.

As the person who was definitely too tall to go unnoticed if either of the two desperate —presumably armed and used to killing things bigger than themselves— Survey Corps members looked her way, Wren did her best to stay absolutely still. She wasn't even breathing really, just taking the tiniest puffs of air through her nose and praying neither of them noticed. Of course, if they turned around, she was ninety percent sure that they would see her anyway, but she could hope, right? She really didn't want to have to leave her shelter because of two freaking out lilliputians who would probably attack her on sight but that she couldn't dare fight back against because they were so **small**.

The girl eased the man down against the wall dangerously close to Wren's corner, rambling all the while about what she was going to do and how her friend would be fine and how the titans wouldn't find them there and how her friend would be **fine**. The man just nodded faintly once in a while, eyes squeezed shut from what was probably a mix of exhaustion and pain.

The girl then turned around and Wren officially stopped breathing from the tension. There was a long pause as the girl's eyes roved over Wren's side of the church, but —to Wren's internal astonishment— there was no freezing or shouting or pulling of swords. She just stumbled her way over to the crates Wren was huddled beside, her hands slightly outstretched as if to ward off unseen walls. Wait, **unseen**. _Oh. She has bad night vision._

Which was understandable, Wren had no idea what time it was, but the church was completely unlit on the inside and any ambient light from the outdoors was being thoroughly smothered by the pouring rain. Wren's night vision was good, partially by nature but mostly because of practice —thank you, three years of being an Aternum street rat, thank you, all those times Fairy Tail Luck struck at night while on a job—, but she knew other people could have terrible night vision. Evergreen was basically blind as soon as the sun went down unless she had a lamp, for example. _This girl must have terrible night vision too._

That didn't stop Wren from holding her breath as the girl growled and wrestled her way into crate after crate in search of medical supplies. Somehow, despite the terrible night vision that kept her from noticing the large boot she kept almost stumbling into, the girl managed to locate bandages, what looked like a jar of paste, and a bottle of what Wren thought was alcohol and shuffle her way back to the man. Wren dared to inhale again as quietly as she could, only to resume holding her breath when the girl stumbled back to the boxes and rustled about until she found a small oil lamp, a teeny matchbox, and a bundle of blankets —all from different crates, Wren wondered if the girl was just lucky or if there was some kind of uniform organization system for Survey Corps safe house supplies—. Wren watched tensely as the girl finally bumbled her way, cursing and talking about everything and nothing, back to the man and crouched down in front of him.

When the oil lamp flickered to life a few seconds later, Wren felt like she was going to have a heart attack. The girl's back was to her, but all the man had to do was open his eyes and he was sure to see the tip of Wren's boot just inside the ring of light at the very least, if not the rest of her huddled form. She didn't dare move her boot though, any noise might draw their attention and she wanted her secrecy to last as long as possible. Wren thought briefly of just ducking into the shadows, but her reserves were still on the low side and she didn't want to waste her magic if she could help it —because what if she had to run from or, Mavis forbid, fight a titan in the near future? She'd need all the magic she could get then—.

She tried to distract herself by breathing lightly and observing the two strangers in the better lighting of the oil lamp. The girl had shaggy red hair plastered against her neck and shoulders, just long enough to pull into pigtails if she'd wanted —maybe she usually did? For some reason the red hair was niggling Wren's memory with flashes of pigtails and the word "aniki"—. The man had dark, brown-blond hair and angular features that might have been handsome if his expression hadn't been so pinched from pain —she hoped he didn't have internal injuries, that would be really bad for the two of them out here—. She couldn't tell what his eye color was, because his eyes were still screwed shut as the girl wrestled him out of his ruined 3D maneuvering gear and began cutting off part of the pants on his injured leg to access the injury.

They were talking quietly, mostly the girl but partially the man when prompted, and Wren felt a bit bad for accidentally eavesdropping as the two talked about comrades in the corps and what they were going to do for their leave when they got back and how Levi-aniki was going to kick their butts for disappearing for so long. The last part had Wren muffling a gasp as memory zipped through her head. _Red haired girl, blond boy, Levi-aniki, they can't be… they can't be the two from Levi's backstory can they? What were their names…?_ She didn't remember. It had been so long since she'd been forced to watch the anime —she hated losing bets, seriously hated them, the punishments were always too creative for her liking—. She barely remembered the names of the three main characters and the coolest character —because Levi was the coolest if also the meanest— and bits and pieces of the first season plot.

The only reason she remembered the Levi backstory episode/OVA thing at all was because it had broken her heart so badly to see Levi's two best friends massacred by the titans —she hated gory anime, **hated it** , it was more nightmare-inducing than most live-action movies she'd seen—. But that was just it, she'd seen them get killed on … hadn't it been their first mission outside the Walls? So how were these two here?

Then again, this was supposed to be Earthland and, assuming she hadn't fallen into yet another dimension somehow, that meant these two would be less the canon characters of the anime and more … counterparts of those characters. Like Ichiya and Nichiya or Jellal and Mystogan right? So it was theoretically possible that if one anime world was real, there could be counterparts of characters from even more anime worlds living in worlds where they weren't the "main characters", wasn't it?

…That thought brought up **so many** potential headaches she was going to stop thinking about it right now and come back to it another time —hopefully never— because there was no way she wanted to think about possibly meeting some of the characters of other anime she'd seen —Madara, Naruto, Ichigo, Light, **Kaneki** —.

Yeah, no, not dealing with that thought now —or ever—. Back to her current dilemma of being crammed in a corner with two oblivious tiny people who would no doubt freak out once they spotted her. Which she couldn't really do anything about without wasting magic and giving up her shelter, neither of which she could really do without.

Maybe she could reason with them when they noticed her? No, wait, she was mute and moving her hands would probably just make it worse. Maybe they'd be observant enough to notice that she was wearing clothes and hadn't attacked the moment they came in and put some of the pieces together themselves?

Yeah … no. Probably not. Fairy Tail Luck wasn't that nice.

Case in point, in the middle of her musing, she heard a stifled gasp. Snapping out of her thoughts, she refocused on the pair and accidentally locked gazes with the frightened blue eyes of the man. His mouth was open in a silent scream, face a picture of confusion and hopelessness and terror that broke Wren's heart instantly. The girl stiffened at her comrade's expression and whirled around, holding the lamp up high and throwing the rest of Wren's knees and face into sharp relief. Wren could practically see the thoughts flashing through the girl's head in the span of those frozen seconds were nobody dared move. There was confusion, terror, fury, despair, and the heart-wrenching expression of someone who wanted to cry and scream because life wasn't **fair** but didn't because they'd already learned years ago that those things wouldn't help.

In the back of her mind, a part of Wren acknowledged just why people like Gaara had been so messed up by their childhoods. Because seeing those expressions directed at her —ones that silently screamed _monster_ , _demon_ , _hated and feared_ — was already tearing her heart open. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to spend a lifetime growing up seeing those expressions directed at her all the time, from everyone.

The man unfroze first, face crumbling in total despair and his shoulders slumping as he sank further against the wall, his every motion screaming that he was just … giving up. That he thought his fate was already sealed. The girl on the other hand, came unfrozen with a desperate string of curses and a hand scrambling for the hilt sticking out of the hip canisters. She yanked the hilt free, revealing a broken stub of a blade that flashed in the lamp light as she spread her feet in a defensive stance and placed herself more fully between Wren and the man. Green eyes flashed with anger and despair, but also a stubborn determination to keep fighting —because someone was behind her, someone she loved as kin, and had that been Wren's expression some of the times she put herself between danger and the _Raijinshū_? That mix of fire and anguish that spoke of someone with nothing to lose from fighting but everything to lose from giving up?—.

The man's voice shook as he raised his voice for the first time, "Isabel, what are you doing? Don't be stupid! Get out of here! Run! Run while it's busy with- with me!"

The girl —Isabel, that was her name, Wren remembered that now— bared her teeth in a feral expression despite the shaking of her hands, "No!"

"Isabel-!"

"Ah didn't leave yah behind two weeks ago, Ah ain't leavin' yah behind now!" A stubby blade —it must have gotten broken sometime before they came to the church— waved emphatically in Wren's direction, "Well? Come on yah bloody monster! Come get steel!"

Wren didn't move except for a quiet blink of confusion. Because how was she —a mute— supposed to respond to that? Shy away? Hold still? Try to wave and smile- no wait, smiling would definitely be bad in this situation, titans smiled all the time and giant teeth would be far from a comforting sight for anybody right now. Isabel waved the blade again with a shout of challenge. Wren could see how fast her tiny chest was rising and falling and a tiny voice in the back of Wren's mind whispered _panic attack_. She would know, she'd had more than enough of them since coming to Earthland.

The much smaller girl suddenly lurched at Wren with a wordless, gut-wrenching cry, sword stub slashing for Wren's … anything really and instinct — _steel-blood-pain-bad_ — made a fraction of the shadows snap up and block the attack before it could reach her. Isabel stumbled back, eyes wide as she stared at the wavering, waist high —for Isabel— shadow shield, speechless. The man leaning against the wall breathed, "A titan … that can use magic…?" And the words seemed to break whatever tiny thread of desperation was keeping Isabel's courage from failing.

The hilt and sword stub clattered to the ground from shaking fingers and Isabel reeled back, crumbling to her knees just in front of her companion as heart-tearing sobs shuddered out of her frame. Tiny, pale hands cradled her face, but Wren didn't need to see to know that tears were streaming down her face, all the stress and terror of whatever had led the two here to the old church finally overwhelming the bravery of someone far too small to shoulder the terrors of the world. Someone who had finally seen the last of her hopes shredded to nothing before her eyes.

The man was crying too now, silent save for his deep gasps air, tears sliding freely down his face and reflecting the weak light of the lantern like twin streams of despair.

Wren felt her throat go tight, tight enough that it hurt to breathe, and tears burned behind her eyelids as she snapped them shut. She didn't want to see them cry because of her —because she wasn't a person to them, she was a monster, a terror that had somehow snuck up on them and destroyed their one hope just by existing—. It **hurt**. She didn't know them, not really, barely remembered their episode in an anime from years ago, but she didn't have to know them for their reaction —their terror and despair and grief just at the sight of her— to tear her up inside. Knowing that her mere presence was enough to cause this, to trigger a visceral reaction on the same level as she'd felt when seeing that first titan herself…

She took a deep, calculated breath, held it, let it out, then took another and held it too. She couldn't cry right now — _not when this was her fault_ —, the sound would just scare them — _remind them she was there, remind them why they were crying like the world had just ended_ — and they had already been through enough — _too much_ — for her to add to it with her own distress.

She could cry later, just like all the days the world around her got to be too much and she would repress it — _repress the knowing of why Gray was so lost, the guilt that she hadn't been able to help, hadn't even tried despite the impossibility_ —. The days she smiled and pretended she was fine — _that she was a child like the rest of them_ — until everyone else was asleep and she could slip outside to sit on the cliff overlooking the lake and cry, silently scream where no one would hear — _where no one else would see and ask what was wrong, look so sad when she didn't tell them and not understand that she_ ** _couldn't_** _—_.

But not right now. Later. It was someone else's turn to cry now, and she had a feeling it was a lot longer in coming than just seeing her —even though the fact that she was the last straw for their tears hurt more than she'd ever known it could—.

So she waited. Forced her tears back and watched with dry, burning eyes as the two lost people in front of her cried and screamed and broke, oblivious to the fact that the thing they feared wasn't hurting them. It felt like hours before they stopped —maybe it was, the rain was still pouring down and time was meaningless in a place like this—. Sometime in between the start and finish, Wren had given in to the hunger pangs making her misery worse and nibbled silently on her energy bar to sate it —the two in front of her hadn't even noticed, but that was okay, she doubted the sounds of oats breaking between teeth as large as hers would have helped their trauma at all—.

By the time their sobs began to calm and their tears ran dry, there was only a lonely, thumb-sized strip of Wren's energy bar still uneaten and the lantern light was flickering in a telltale sign that the oil was running low. Wren watched as they shook and shivered —too small, how easy must it be to catch hypothermia in bodies that small?— and began to sluggishly look around. It was the man who opened his eyes first, an exhausted glaze to them until his gaze settled on Wren and awareness flooded back. His face began to twist with despair again, but then she saw confusion flicker through, stilling the second wave of grief and replacing it with an angry, lost sort of bafflement.

"Isabel." His voice was hoarse and quiet from crying, but the sound carried in the church, loud somehow even over the rain. Red hair bobbed as Isabel looked back at her comrade, sniffing noisily as she made a miserable questioning sound. The man didn't take his eyes away from Wren, blue still staring into larger hazel as he whispered, "We aren't dead yet."

Blank seconds passed before the girl's shoulders went rigid and she twisted around to stare at Wren. Red-rimmed green eyes filled with confusion and Wren waited in silence for several more heartbeats before Isabel rubbed her nose on her arm and choked out, "Why? Why hasn't it- Why didn't it already-?"

It was sympathy that finally unfroze Wren's limbs, the voice in the back of her head reminding her just how miserable and hungry she was after a long crying session like that. Her fingers, hidden behind her curled up knees and still wrapped firmly around the remaining corner of the energy bar shifted, gripped, and twisted. The crackle-snap of oats and glaze sounded like a gunshot in the silence and Isabel and the man both flinched violently, but otherwise didn't move. Slowly, painstakingly slowly, like her joints were made of molasses in winter, Wren lifted a broken piece of the energy bar —the part her lips hadn't yet contaminated— out of her lap.

They watched, seemingly paralyzed as Wren gingerly reached out and set the piece of bar down on the floor in front of them, nudging it a little so that it would slide the rest of the way to rest against Isabel's knees without Wren needing to bring her hand that close. Silent offering given, Wren wrapped her arm around her aching knees —her legs were screaming to stretch out or move in some way, but that would only scare them— and pulled her legs closer to her chest despite her body's protests.

Their eyes dropped to the piece of bar that was at least as big as the man's entire hand and three times as thick and looked at it with total incomprehension. Then their eyes flicked back up to her and Wren pointedly tucked the lower half of her face away —the part that had the mouth and big teeth they had to be so afraid of— behind her knees, only her eyes and forehead still visible to them.

Somehow, Wren wasn't entirely surprised that it was Isabel who first broke the stalemate and tentatively picked up the piece of food —she seemed like a "do first, think later" person really, like Gray or Bickslow were—. The red-head hefted it in her hands, sniffed it suspiciously, then murmured, "This ain't one of ours. 's too big…" Green eyes bounced back over to her and Wren internally jolted with surprise when Isabel cautiously raised her voice and asked, "This yours?"

The man visibly started at her question, then flinched as the motion jarred whatever injuries he had, "Isabel, it's a titan, it can't-" Wren lifted her head above her knees just enough for her nod to be obvious. The man's voice trailed off with a strangled noise and wide blue eyes.

Isabel scrambled to her feet, energy bar still clenched in her hands, eyes gleaming with something … desperate. Not hope, not yet, but something that was like curiosity mixed with the desperate, disbelieving thought that some impossible prayer might be on the cusp of being answered, "Yah can understand me? Yah can- yah understand what Ah'm sayin'?" Wren gave another nod and then, after a heartbeat of indecision, slowly lowered her hand to the floor again. The two tensed immediately, Isabel going so far as to hold her breath, but all Wren did was hover her hand low to the floor and gently swirl her fingers, eyes narrowing in concentration.

It was so much easier to just trace what she wanted into the air, but those movements would be too fast and large for the unsteady nerves of the two watching her, so she just focused on what she wanted to happen, on sending that desire through her fingers to the shadows pooling near her feet. Slowly, tiny tendrils of shadows rose to meet her fingers, twisting and curling uncertainly until they formed the desired shapes. Another twitch of her thumb and forefinger made the shapes slowly spin to face Isabel and the man. This time when the man sucked in a sharp breath, he didn't seem to notice whatever pain it might have caused, too busy staring at the little shadow constructs hovering next to Wren's feet.

 _"_ _Yes. I understand."_


End file.
